Unacceptable Nap Locations
by missblueeyes63
Summary: Sam's ability to sleep anywhere became a running joke with Team One. The team found him asleep in some strange places during their shifts and off shift too. The first time Ed found Sam sleeping he laughed and told Sam that it was an unacceptable nap location. After a few times of finding Sam asleep in odd places the Unacceptable Nap Location list was born. That list was growing.
1. Unacceptable Nap Location List Is Born

**Unacceptable Nap Locations**

* * *

 ** _Summary_** _:_ _Sam's ability to sleep anywhere became a running joke with Team One. The team found him asleep in some strange places during their shifts and off shift too. The first time Ed found Sam sleeping he laughed and told Sam that it was an unacceptable nap location. After a few times of finding Sam asleep in odd places the Unacceptable Nap Location list was born. That list was growing._

 ** _Setting_** _: These will be tiny snippets throughout the timeline. Like Alphabet Injuries, each chapter will be a stand-alone snippet._

 ** _Special nod to musicaldolphingirl2011_** _who suggested I do a story about how the unacceptable nap locations list got started and then do little snippets of various locations that are on the list._

 _This set of stories I will use as a place for my muse to go when I'm blocked on my longer stories. So not exactly sure how often updates will be coming. Could be fast or slow depending on how the other stories are going._

 _I do not own Flashpoint or any of the characters from that series. I do own my original characters (OC)._

* * *

 **Unacceptable Nap Location List Is Born**

* * *

 ** _SRU HQ – Briefing Room – 2:00 am_**

Ed walked into the briefing room. It was two am on the seventh day of shifts. They had pulled extra duty this week covering for Team Four which was down three men. Two were out ill and one had decided to move on to the Special Victims Unit as a detective. Team Four's new rookie Nicolas Hudson was due to start next week.

The back to back shifts for the last seven days had been tough on all of them. But perhaps most taxing on their rookie. Sam had been thrown into so many new situations. Sam screwed up and did not follow protocol several times. But Ed was now trying hard to act more as a mentor than ogre. He was not always successful and today he had screwed up again in that regard.

It was only about a month ago the team had the extremely painful realization of how they had been treating their rookie. That meeting at Greg's home had been enlightening. There were so many things about Sam that they had all turned a blind eye too.

He was good. He was green too. But Sam needed mentoring to help him transition from soldier into urban police officer. It was a slow process. Things were better but there were still bumps in the road. Like today. He had been such an ass to Sam before SIU took Sam away for the interview.

But his biggest pet peeve with Sam was the rookie's almost nonexistent regard for his own safety. That kid took some damned unacceptable risks to protect others. He and Greg talked often about that very fact.

Ed stopped and looked around. He sighed and started to turn to head out. Sam was not here either. He wanted to speak to him about an upcoming warrant call. He wanted to get his input on Sierra location.

That was one skill Sam excelled at. It took him seconds to assess the right place. It might go a ways in smoothing over his screw up with the rookie. He needed to begin to allow Sam to routinely choose his positions. If he had done that today then maybe things would have been different.

Greg asked "Eddie what are you doing?"

Ed turned back to Greg "Looking for Braddock. You haven't seen him have you?"

Shaking his head Greg said "No have you checked the gun range?"

Ed nodded "Yeah I checked there, the 360 shoot room, the cage, the locker room, the track and Spike's tech room. You don't think he just quit and up and left do you? I lit into him pretty damned hard before SIU took him."

Greg took off his hat and rubbed his head. He didn't think Sam would be the type to just take off without telling them he was quitting. He looked at Ed "No I don't think that. You want Kira to page him over the loudspeaker?"

"No. I don't think that would go over well with him. It's lunch time anyways. I'll just keep looking. He has to be here somewhere" Ed stated and then left the room.

Greg hollered after him "Let me know if you need help looking."

"Will do" Ed called back over his shoulder.

* * *

 ** _SRU HQ – Locker Room – 1:45 am_**

Sam sat on the bench trying to relax. He had screwed up again in that last call. He had moved position without telling Ed he was moving first. Ed was sure to come down on his ass about that one again.

While he had waited for SIU to come get him Ed had laid into him damned hard for not informing him and Ed also had issue with where he had moved to. Sam suspected Ed raged about it in debrief. He fully expected Ed to ream him again since he missed debrief being at SIU.

Sam knew he should have remembered to announce his position change but the situation unfolded so quickly. He had acted out of instinct to ensure he covered the team and did not leave them open. It was how he survived and kept his unit alive in the field. Instinct was a good thing in Sam's mind.

Ed had other thoughts though. Ed called it unacceptable risk.

In his mind though it was not unacceptable risk. It was necessary risk to keep them alive. It kept Greg alive today. So what if it put him in the direct line of fire. It saved Greg and that was his job.

Sam could not allow any of his team to get hurt or killed on his watch. He already carried the burden of several unit members' deaths. He did not think he could bear the weight of another. Especially not after killing Matt.

Besides, Greg was way more important than him anyways. Greg saved people every day by talking to them. All he was good for was point and shoot. He sucked so badly at negotiation he probably couldn't negotiable himself out of a paper bag.

Crap, his mind was all over the place. It was because he was tired; so very tired. Sam knew he needed to get more sleep. There were only so many hours in a day though.

With back to back twelve hour shifts that usually ended up extending an hour or more due to calls. Plus two hours pre-shift workout. That left roughly eight to nine hours to sleep.

But that time also included drive time to and from work, time to grab something to eat, showering and actually eating. That left about seven.

Sam then subtracted the time he spent reading and studying all the manuals. There was so much he had to learn. This job was what he wanted but it was so different than his point and shoot soldier days. After he deducted that time he was left with roughly five hours to sleep.

That wouldn't be so bad if he could actually sleep uninterrupted for those five hours. He had lived on basically that or less for weeks in missions. But then his sleep had not been constantly interrupted by nightmares. Sure he had occasional nightmares in the field but not relentless nightmares.

Since he had killed Matt he had not had a single nights' sleep without constant nightmares. He would wake from nightmares over and over. His heart would race and he would be drenched in sweat. His sheets would be too damp to sleep on and he would have to remake the bed or move to the floor. Usually he just moved to the floor.

Getting back to sleep was difficult after a nightmare. Memories of Matt would come to him. More often than not he would have one or two crying jags as the memories overwhelmed him.

He missed Matt so very much. Sometimes it hurt so much he would pick up the pearl handled colt and contemplate ending the pain.

But every time Matt would talk to him and remind him to keep moving forward. Matt told him to find a place where he could belong. Sam knew it wasn't really Matt talking to him but Matt's memory. But he liked to think of it as Matt talking to him. It hurt less that way.

Sam looked around the locker room. He needed a quick cat nap. He didn't think he could do it here. If Ed found him it would just be one more thing to ride his ass about.

He stood and headed out of the locker room in search of a quiet place he could take a quick twenty minute nap. Lunch ended in a half hour so he should be okay taking a twenty minute cat nap. He would always hear the claxon alarms if they got a hot call before then.

* * *

 ** _SRU HQ – Outside Conference Room Three – 1:50 am_**

Sam smiled. He had been in conference room three once. It was the soundproof room. It would be perfect because it would be quiet and the alarms still sounded in it.

He tried the door. It was locked. Sam debated whether or not to go ask Kira for the key. If he did Ed might find out and ask him why. Sam really didn't want Ed to know he was tired and not sleeping at night. That would look bad and he would want to know why.

Sam wasn't about to tell Ed he had constant nightmares. He had snowed the psychologist on that point already. So he could not admit it. It would also make him appear weak. Being weak was unacceptable.

He pulled out his lock picking tools and quickly picked the lock and then slipped into the room.

* * *

 ** _SRU HQ – Inside Conference Room Three – 1:51 am_**

Sam grinned. This was perfect. He headed to the opposite side of the room. He would be mostly hidden if anyone came in and he would have time to react.

He laid down and put his arm under his head.

Sam was asleep in seconds. It was something his was trained in. He had the ability to fall asleep at the drop of a hat and figuratively sleep with one eye and one ear open. He could be instantly awake if there were a threat.

The only threat Sam felt he had to worry about was being discovered sleeping by Ed.

* * *

 ** _SRU HQ – Outside Conference Room Three – 2:10 am_**

Ed had searched everywhere except conference room three. He had even gone up to the roof where the rookie liked to stand and look out at the city. He didn't quite understand why he did that. But it was a pattern he was beginning to see.

When the rookie was upset he would often go up there to calm down. That was okay with him. Everyone needed a place to go to get their emotions under control.

Ed liked it better when Sam went to the roof instead of tearing into the heavy bag. The rookie did a lot of that. They had to change out the heavy bad several times since Sam joined SRU.

He inserted the key. Kira had said Sam did not ask for the key. But this was the only place he could be if he hadn't in fact quit and just walked out.

If that was the case, then it would lie squarely on his shoulders.

He had ridden Sam hard for moving positions without telling him and for putting himself in the line of fire in the process before Sam was taken away by SIU. Sam had been cleared by SIU and rejoined them just before lunch.

Wordy had already reamed him about laying into Sam about Sam's decision to move during debrief. Wordy had seen what he had not seen. Sam had to make an instant decision. There was no time to call out positions. It was the right thing to do and saved Greg's life.

He had avoided Sam when Sam returned from SIU. Ed had needed time to get his own thoughts in order. That's when he decided he would get Sam's input for the upcoming warrant call. Ed hoped that it would get them passed the earlier ugliness. It would be a way to show Sam he valued his skills.

But in order to do that he had to find the rookie first.

Ed opened the conference room door. He scanned the room quickly and found no one in the room. Ed was about to close the door when his eyes caught the sole of a boot near the opposite wall. What the hell?

He moved silently into the room. Or so he thought. For a split second he saw Sam on the floor with his eyes closed. He could swear Sam was asleep. But the next second, Sam was standing at attention and appeared wide awake.

Sam shot up hearing someone enter the room. He faced the door as his body snapped to attention. Ah crap! It was Ed. The last team member he wanted to find him sleeping. He had such damned bad luck. Sam knew Ed was going to lay into him for this so hard.

Ed saw the surprise followed by dismay cross the rookie's face. It was so fleeting before it was covered with a neutral mask and the rookie was at rigid attention. Damn.

He asked "Sam what are you doing in here on the floor?"

Sam's mind raced. He had nothing he could say. He spoke the truth "Taking a cat nap Sir."

"A nap?" Ed asked surprised at the answer.

"Yes Sir" Sam answered in monotone.

"Why?" Ed queried. But he could see why. The rookie looked like he hadn't slept in a week. Hell he always looked like that. Those dark circles under his eyes were almost a constant.

Sam relaxed his body slightly and answered "Been a rough day Sir."

Ed nodded "Yeah it has. Been a rough several days. I'm so wrung out it isn't funny. Makes it hard to think clearly sometimes."

Sam was surprised at Ed's answer and that Ed was not laying into him. He didn't know what to say so remained silent.

Ed saw something akin to surprised cross Sam's face. Sam probably thought he would lay into him again. He needed to do something to begin to change Sam's expectations of him.

Humor. Ed thought he should try humor.

So Ed laughed and smiled. Amusement was clear in his eyes, expression and voice as he said "God I could really use a nap too. But you know Samo, conference room three is unacceptable nap location. I mean the floor is so hard. How the hell can you sleep on the floor?"

"Practice, slept in a lot more uncomfortable places" Sam answered relaxing even more at Ed's relaxed demeanor.

Sam was a bit confused. Ed was not angry or yelling at him. It was confusing but nice too. He had seen Ed joke with the others before but never with him.

Ed nodded, yeah a Special Forces soldier was bound to have slept in some very uncomfortable places. Seeing Sam relax a bit, Ed pushed forward with his idea to show Sam he valued his abilities.

"I wanted to get your input on our warrant call later this morning. We need to place two snipers and you have a good eye for that" Ed said as he moved into the room and sat down at the table.

Ed opened the file he had been carrying with him all over as he searched for Sam. He slid two aerial photos across the table toward Sam and asked "Where would you suggest?"

Sam was stunned. Ed was actually asking his opinion on position. A hint of a smile teased at the corner of his mouth. He pulled out a chair and sat down.

As Sam reviewed the photos he thought, maybe, just maybe things might work out here after all. He might have just found someplace to belong.

 _Neither of them knew it at the time but the Unacceptable Nap Location list had just been born._

 _._

* * *

 ** _AN:_** _Hope you liked it. As with Alphabet Injuries I'm open to suggestions, places or scenarios that can be added to the unacceptable nap location list._


	2. SRU Rooftop

**Rooftop**

* * *

 _ **On Scene – Eclipse Lighting Manufacturing**_

Breathing was labored as Sam continued to run after one of the subjects. Damn this guy was a rabbit and there were so many places he could hide. He had been chasing him through the manufacturing warehouse for the past ten minutes.

The team was split up trying to round up all the subjects. Sam had bolted after this one while Ed, Wordy, Lou and Spike had taken after others. Sarge was working with the patrol officers to seal off all exits. Jules was Sierra One and working as their eyes on the exterior for places the patrol officers were not yet at.

The subject took the corner of the next aisle.

Sam followed calling out "Subject just entered the stairwell at the back of aisle four _."_

Ed called out "Stay with him Sam. Wordy you are closest, back up Sam." Ed pushed his knee into the back of his squirming subject as he cuffed him.

Wordy had just handed his subject off to a patrol officer outside and called out "Sam heading your way now."

Sam responded "Heading up the stairs. Damn he can run."

Spike had caught his subject within a minute. He was lucky he went after the morbidly obese man who stopped and gave up after about thirty paces. He had headed back to the truck to tap into the cameras in case Sam or the others needed help locating a subject. Sam got the fastest one of the bunch.

Sam's subject had led Sam on a merry chase throughout the vast warehouse. They had gone up and down aisles, around and over obstacles and now the subject was going up to the roof. Spike had captured a screen image of the subject so he could run facial recognition so they knew who they were after.

From inside the truck Spike said "I got an id on your subject Sam. Yeah he can run. Dauntay Craskell is a former Olympic hurdler. Had his medals striped from him when he was caught in the doping scheme. His life went downhill from there. He's been arrested numerous times for possession."

Sam puffed as he dug down deeper as he pounded up the stairs. As he neared the top he heard Wordy entering the stairwell. He slowed a bit at the door and called out "No wonder he jumped those damned boxes with ease. Subject is now on the roof. Jules, do you see which direction he went?"

From her Sierra One position Jules informed Sam "Subject heading for the east side Sam. I see no weapons in his hands."

"Copy that" Sam said and exited the stairwell to continue running the subject down.

Sam breathed a sigh of relief. There was nowhere for the subject to go now that he was on the roof. Wordy would prevent the subject from getting back down the stairs. Dauntay was cornered now. Sam was glad. This chase was exhausting.

"WHOA!" Jules called out in astonishment. Then quickly she added "Someone needs to head to the building east of Eclipse Lighting. Dauntay just jumped across parkour style."

Lou called out "On my way" as he quickly handed off his subject to a waiting patrol officer.

Sam saw what Jules saw. Crap. Sam poured on the speed. He launched himself across the gap between the buildings. He took a split second glance down as he sailed across the gap. He gulped. That was a hell of a long ways down.

Jules gasped "Sam. What the hell?"

Ed handed off the subject to a patrol officer. Serving a warrant on the drug dealer had gone off mostly without a hitch. He heard Jules' gasp and then her comment. What unacceptable risk did Sam take now? Ed was about to call out for status when he heard Wordy.

"Damn! Sam jumped" Wordy exclaimed. He had made it to the east side of the roof and watched Sam jump across the buildings.

There was no way in hell he could do the same thing Wordy thought looking at the gap between buildings. The gap was just too damned wide. Sam was so damned cocky sometimes. But Wordy was sure Sam would not have jumped if he didn't know he could make it. He took risks but he wasn't stupid.

Sam landed on both feet. Then he was running again. Sam smiled. He made it. He wasn't so sure he could make it across. That was a stupid thing to do Sam thought. But in the heat of the moment he had gone for it. He was not letting this subject get away from him.

Rounding the AC units Sam launched himself at Dauntay who had stopped for a breath thinking he had gotten away.

They went down hard. Sam grunted as they hit. He rolled quickly and had Dauntay on his stomach and cuffed quickly.

Sam called out "Subject in custody."

He stood up and then pulled Dauntay up.

Dauntay looked at the officer and said "How the hell did you keep up? For that matter how the hell did you jump the roof?"

Sam just shrugged and guided the subject to the stairwell. He said "Heading for the stairwell."

Ed called out "Braddock we are gonna have a serious discussion about unacceptable risk after debrief."

"Copy that" Sam said with a smile in his voice.

The team chuckled; a whole hell of a lot a good that discussion would have on Sam. Ed had had the discussion with Sam many times. Sam just did not or could not change that behavior.

Most of the team now believed that it was just too ingrained in Sam. Asking Sam to change that behavior would be like asking a blind man to tell you the color of the shirt you were wearing. But Ed never gave up trying.

* * *

 _ **Eight Hours Later – SRU HQ**_

Dragging themselves back into the barn most of the team headed to the briefing room. They had five calls to debrief on. After the warrant call they had a series of four hot calls, one right after the other.

The first was domestic call where a teenage girl was angry with her parents for not letting her date. She had threatened them with a kitchen knife. Not the brightest way to get your parents to agree to your position on dating. Jules had talked the girl into surrendering.

On the second call it was a distraught man that was going to jump off the bridge. He had lost his job, his girlfriend and his dog all in one day. Lou had talked him into not jumping when Greg had talked the girlfriend into letting the man keep the dog. Seeing the man sitting on the edge of the bridge hugging the miniature poodle as it licked his face was heartwarming.

The third call was a hostage situation at Wild Joe's Burger Hut. A strung-out junkie got irate when he tried to use and expired coupon. He held the poor frightened cashier at gun point. His demands were that they give him a free burger.

Greg was challenged on that one as the druggie kept vacillating between yellow and red. Sam nearly had to take a Sierra shot. But finally the druggie dropped the gun when he collapsed. The subject went into cardiac arrest and Ed and Wordy performed CPR until the paramedics arrived. Unfortunately the druggie died at the scene.

Their last call was the quickest but most difficult and set a pallor over the entire team. Greg had tried in vain to talk the subject down. But the subject was hell bent on his mission.

The subject blamed the security company for his son's death. The only problem was that the man had no son. He was delusional. But that did not stop him from putting the seventeen year old son of the CEO on the thirtieth floor of the utilities office building and rigging the place with a bomb. The subject had disabled the elevators.

Sam had tried so hard to reach the boy. He was the fastest of all of them but he was not fast enough. Sam ran up the flights of stairs as fast as humanly possible. But when Sam was on the twenty-ninth floor the subject pressed the remote detonator.

The explosion had sent Sam careening down one flight of stairs. The team could see that Sam was having a difficult time accepting that there was nothing else he could have done. After being cleared by the EMT Sam had walked to one of the trucks and left. He told the Boss he needed a moment and he would meet them for debrief.

Just before entering the briefing room Greg stopped at Kira's desk and asked "Have you seen Sam?"

Kira shook her head "Sorry. I saw him come in but not where he went after."

Ed said "Greg get started with debrief on call two. I think I know where Sam might have gone."

Greg nodded "Okay. But if he is not where you think he is let me know. We'll stop debrief and search for him. Sam shouldn't be left alone after that."

Spike, Lou, Wordy and Jules were just as concerned and balked at starting debrief. They wanted to locate Sam. Greg ushered them all into the briefing room anyways.

* * *

 _ **SRU HQ – Rooftop**_

Sam stood and looked out at the city. The cool wind felt good on his face. He was trying very hard to hold it together. It was such a senseless act. A seventeen year old boy was dead. And for what? Nothing. Not a damned thing.

He knew he did all he could do today. But it wasn't good enough. It was like Gary all over again.

If only he could have run faster. No bullet in his thigh to slow him down this time but the end result was the same. Gary was dead because he was not fast enough. And now a seventeen year old boy was dead because he was one floor away. He was too slow again.

Ed opened the rooftop door. Yep exactly where he thought the rookie would be. He was right. Sam came here when he needed a break.

He softly closed the door. As he headed back down the stairs Ed blew out a breath he had been holding. If only they could have gotten there sooner. Things might have ended differently.

But Ed had been at this too long to continue to rehash the could haves, should haves, would haves and wishes. There was a distinct down side to this job. Innocent people sometimes died regardless of their best efforts. Each of them had to have a method to deal with it when that happened.

As methods went, Sam's choice to stand with a cool wind in his face wasn't so bad. It was good the rookie did not turn to alcohol. Ed decided to give Sam some time alone. The kid needed it. They could debrief without him for all calls except the first and the last.

Sam heard the door open then close. He waited for the footsteps. When he didn't hear any he turned towards the door. He rubbed his temples when he saw no one was there. Whoever it was had decided to leave him alone. It was probably Ed.

Ed had been the one to tell the Boss to let him go after the EMTs checked him out. For that he was grateful. He and Ed had an interesting dynamic. Sam could see that Ed was trying to understand him. To be honest, he was trying just as hard to understand Ed.

Sam slumped to the ground and leaned his back against the wall that surrounded the roof. It was comfortable if a bit loud right here. The air handler formed a corner with the wall and the constant loud whir of the fan had a strange hypnotic effect on him. Sam felt secure here for some inexplicable reason. It was a good place to relax.

He was suddenly so very tired. His adrenaline had had an extra work out today. Jumping across the building in the warrant call had it pumping and surging into his veins. That had been a stupid move. Whatever Ed had to say about it would all be true. Sam had no good argument for that one.

Then he was Sierra One for the first hot call. He had been so tense. He was so glad that Jules talked the teenage girl down. He really had not wanted to have to shoot a teenage girl.

The second hot call he and Wordy had hooked up rappelling gear ready to lunge for the jumper if need be. It was a full hour of tension and keeping his body ready to take action. The adrenaline crash after that call was not as intense as he watched the man and his dog.

However the third hot call with the druggie had been very intense and nerve racking. The gun kept going up and down. He had expected the Scorpio call to come at any moment. But then the subject dropped dead of a heart attack.

But the last call was the worst. The adrenaline crash was huge because it was coupled with an emotional crash too. Ed and Spike had to help him down the stairs after the blast. His legs were like rubber and barely held himself upright. That had been embarrassing. He hated showing weakness of any sort.

Sam leaned his head back and closed his eyes. He needed to rest a moment. Just a few moments. He knew he needed to get down to debrief. Ed had probably left him alone so he could gain composure. But Ed would expect him to come down for debrief shortly.

* * *

 _ **SRU HQ – Briefing Room**_

Ed kept looking at the entrance of the briefing room. He had expected Sam down long ago. They had wrapped up debrief of everything except the warrant call and the last call. Finally Ed stood up and said "I'll go get Sam."

Greg nodded "Eddie go easy. Maybe today is not a good time to lay into Sam regarding the jump."

Ed nodded "Wasn't planning on it. We've all been where Sam is now. Being so close yet too far away to save an innocent."

Jules said "Maybe we should all go. Show Sam that we are there for him."

Greg considered that a moment. He stood and said "Not a half bad idea."

Spike and Lou stood at the same time. Lou said "Perhaps he should not be alone tonight."

Wordy said "I can invite him over for dinner. Allie has been asking to see Sam. I know holding my girls after days like these helps. It might help Sam too."

The team headed towards the stairs as a group. They were making headway with their rookie. They could see Sam was still closed off but he was starting to open up a bit to them. It was important for them to show they all cared about him. Show him that he was a member of this team.

Each of them was trying in their own way to get to know Sam better. It was still hit or miss sometimes but they were trying.

* * *

 _ **SRU HQ – Rooftop**_

Ed opened the roof door and stepped out followed by Greg, Wordy, Spike, Jules and Lou. The six of them looked around. Sam was not on the roof.

Greg turned to Ed "You sure he was here?"

Ed pointed and said "He was right there."

Jules started forward and around the air handler. She stopped. Turning to the others she pointed to downward just behind the very noisy air handler with a worried look on her face. She squatted down.

They came forward quickly at the look on Jules' face. Had Sam collapsed? Was he hurt?

Jules was worried that Sam had been hurt worse in the tumble down the stairs then they knew. Sam was sitting on the ground with his back against the wall around the roof where the air handler met the wall.

She crouched down and laid a gentle hand on Sam's shoulder "Sam are you oaky?"

Sam startled awake. He blinked rapidly. He scrambled up instantly wake and alert.

Jules was knocked on her butt as Sam scrambled up. She looked up at him in surprise at his superfast reflexes.

Sam looked down at Jules surprised to see her on the ground. When did she get there? Then he registered the rest of the team. A blush crept into his face. Ah crap! The whole team caught him sleeping. That was so embarrassing. Even more embarrassing was that they had snuck up on him. He was slipping.

Ed crossed his arms on his chest. He tried extremely hard to pull off a pissed off look as he said "You are late for debrief Braddock. I'm not so sure the rooftop is an appropriate place to nap either?"

But Ed failed miserably and burst out laughing. The startled and oh shit I'm in trouble look on Sam's face was just too damned funny. Ed probably shouldn't laugh but he just could not help it.

Jules stood up and arched an eyebrow as she asked in disbelief "Were you sleeping Sam?"

Sam swallowed hard. He looked at the Boss. How much trouble was he in for falling asleep when he should have been in debriefing? His body relaxed ever so slightly when saw Greg's eyes smiling at him and he gave him a slight nod.

Spike and Lou had joined Ed in laughing. Spike was wishing he could have pranked the rookie. Damn he could never sneak up on him. But the whole team just did that. What a wasted opportunity.

Wordy saw that Sam was very uncomfortable and the telltale pink on his ears meant Sam was embarrassed.

He slung an arm over Sam's shoulder and said "Come on Sam. Today was rough. You are coming home with me for dinner. Allie has been asking to see you. Shel is making enchiladas tonight. You're gonna love them. She even got some of that extra hot sauce you like so much."

As Wordy guided a very embarrassed Sam toward the stairs the others hung back. They did not want to overwhelm him. Sam had a horrible day and they would let Wordy handle it. Wordy seemed to have the best connection with Sam right now.

Once Wordy and Sam had entered the stairs and the door closed Ed said to the others "That is the second time I've caught Sam sleeping."

Lou asked "Where was he sleeping the first time?"

"Conference room three" Ed answered.

Greg sighed "I should have checked on him sooner."

Jules said "We all should have. He could have been hurt in that blast."

Ed shook his head "Nah. The EMT said no sign of concussion. Sam said he was fine too. Today just took it out of him. Probably just an adrenaline crash like we all have had before."

Greg nodded "Today was rough on us all." He checked his watch "We've only got fifteen minutes left of shift. Team Five can handle any calls. We can finish debrief tomorrow morning. Everyone can head home a little early today."

Jules, Lou and Spike all headed for the stairs. It wasn't often they got off early. No one was arguing after today. Home and rest sounded good to all three of them.

Ed and Greg followed and Ed mused out loud "I might just have to start a list of unacceptable nap locations if this keeps up."

Greg chuckled "Now Eddie. You saw how embarrassed Sam was. You don't want to repeat that do you?"

Ed smiled "Don't know. We all tease each other. Sam might feel left out if we don't tease him too. You have to admit that was damned funny."

Chuckling Greg responded "Yeah it was. His deer in the headlights look was priceless. But I think he was more embarrassed that we were able to sneak up on him than he was to be found sleeping though."

Ed nodded and said "You might be right about that. Come on. I'll buy you a soda at the Goose. Sophie and Clark won't be home until much later. Clark had a recital in Scarborough."

"Sounds good" Greg said.

As they headed down the stairs Greg was glad that Ed was taking a humor approach with Sam. That just might work to smooth things over with Sam and make him feel more welcome and like he was a part of the team.

* * *

 _ **AN:**_ _Hope you liked it. As with Alphabet Injuries I'm open to suggestions, places or scenarios that can be added to the unacceptable nap location list._


	3. In Line at Timmy's

**In Line at Timmy's**

* * *

 _ **Braddock Home – Master Bathroom – 5:00 am**_

Sam stared into the mirror. The reflection staring back at him was scraggly at best. As he towel dried his hair he thought he really should shave. He glanced down at the razor and decided that slitting his throat wasn't in the works for today. With as tired as he was, even the safety razor was a bit too scary to use.

As he pulled out the toothpaste and applied it to his toothbrush Jules and Sadie wandered into the bathroom. Well Jules wandered. Sadie stormed in and he had a three year old around his leg as she started yammering happily at him. Where did she get the energy? He wished he could find the plug and power up like Sadie did.

Sadie spoke so fast he didn't catch what she was saying. Sam looked down at her expectant face. He had no clue what to say. Sam looked up to Jules with a questioning look.

Jules pulled his toothbrush out of his hand as she answered slowly "Sadie wants to know if you will take her to the park when you get home." She rinsed off his toothbrush.

Sam looked at Jules bemused as he realized she had just rinsed off the toothpaste from his toothbrush. She must be exhausted also to have done something so daft.

He said "Hey I was gonna brush my teeth. You do realize you just rinsed off my toothbrush don't you?"

Jules arched an eyebrow "Um, yeah. I do."

"Why?" Sam queried.

Jules then chuckled "Sam, I don't think you really want to brush your teeth with antibiotic cream. But if you do, by all means put some more on."

Sam turned his gaze to his hand holding the toothpaste. Crap. He dropped the tube of antibiotic cream into the drawer and picked up the toothpaste tube. Sam slowly shook his head, he was the daft one. Lack of sleep was screwing with him.

"Thanks Jules. I must be a little more tired than I thought" Sam admitted.

Jules sighed "You and me both. You'd think all those months of bedrest would have helped. But ten week old twins that are colicky tends to put a dent in sleeping. You sure you are up for shift? You know the guys are willing to cover for you a few more days."

Sam nodded "I know but I'm good. I just need to get some coffee in me."

Jules lightly rubbed his arm as Sam brushed his teeth and said "I'll go make you an iced coffee you can take with you. The boys should sleep for at least another hour."

Around the toothbrush Sam answered with an approximation of the word thanks. Jules headed out. Sadie was still wrapped around his leg. Sam gave Sadie a frothy toothpaste filled grin and Sadie giggled.

When he was done Sam picked up Sadie and kissed her "Good morning poppet. If I get off shift on time we will go to the park."

Sadie happily clung to her daddy as he picked up his go bag and slung it over his other shoulder and carried her out of the room and down the stairs on his hip. As they entered the kitchen Sadie said to her mommy "Daddy said we can go to the park if he gets home in time."

Jules lifted Sadie from Sam's hip and put her on the stool in front of her breakfast "Good. Maybe we will make it a family affair and have a picnic dinner."

Sadie grinned as she took a huge bite of her strawberry jam laden toast. Sam bent down and snitched a bite. He then kissed Sadie's cheek.

Jules was about to kiss Sam and tell him about his coffee when the twin's started crying. She sighed "Go. I've got them. Your coffee is in the fridge in the blue travel mug on the left side." Then Jules raced up the stairs.

Sam turned to Sadie "Be a good girl today and help Mommy if she needs it."

"Copy that" Sadie replied then took another huge bite.

Sam opened the fridge and grabbed the blue travel mug on the right side. Then he headed out the door calling out up the stairs "I'll text you later sweetheart."

He heard Jules respond with bye and have a good day.

* * *

 _ **SRU HQ – Parking Lot – 6:00 am**_

He put the truck in park and turned off the ignition. Sam then ran his hands briskly over his face. He stared out the windshield and had that scary sick feeling you get when you are not quite sure how you got from point A to point B. Sam remembered leaving the driveway and now somehow he had parked at SRU HQ. Everything in between though was just gone.

Sam grabbed his go bag and was about to close the door when he remembered Jules had made him iced coffee. She made the best coffee. Better than even Timmy's and that was saying something. He grabbed the travel mug out of the console and headed into the barn.

He nodded to a few guys heading out. Shift started in one hour. He was not late because the guys all knew that for the next several weeks he would not be joining them for workout. Mostly it was on Dr. Fraser's orders; the doctor wanted him to take it easy on his foot and not run on the treadmill for a few more weeks. Sam agreed because it gave him a little more time in the mornings with his family.

This was his first day back after eight weeks of medical leave and another two weeks of paternity leave since the boys had been born. Getting nailed and fracturing his foot when he and the subject fell through the rotted floor had given him extra time off. He had not pushed his recovery this time enjoying the extra time with his family.

But now Sam was ready to get back to work. Part of him felt bad leaving Jules to handle two colicky babies. But he was exhausted and he actually thought that it would be more restful at work even if he was running subjects down all day.

Sam lifted the mug to his lips and took a long drink preparing to sigh with contentment.

The contents of his mouth were spewed out with great force. Sam was spitting repeatedly. "Ack … gak … gak … yuck."

It was not coffee. His expression was one of disgust as he continued to spit and unscrew the cap. What the hell did he just drink?

His phone started ringing. It was the tone reserved for Jules. Sam quickly answered "What the hell was in the mug?"

 _[At the same exact time Jules spoke over Sam "You took the wrong mug."]_

Sam registered Jules words and said "I took the blue one like you said."

 _["No Sam, you took the blue one on the right not the blue one on the left" Jules answered.]_

Sam reviewed in his head which mug he had pulled out of the fridge. Crap, Jules was right.

He asked "It was disgusting. What the heck was in the mug?"

Sam was shocked when Jules giggled. She actually giggled. Why the hell was she giggling?

 _["Oh Sam you drank some?" Jules asked when she finished giggling.]_

Spitting again Sam responded "I wouldn't quite call it drinking. Spewing all over the ground would be more accurate. Do I really want to know what it was?"

 _[Unable to stop her giggling again Jules answered "Probably not. Um … remember last night I told you I had a doctor's appointment today and Shel was gonna watch the boys?"]_

All kinds of disgusting possibilities entered Sam's head as he warily replied "Uh-huh."

 _[Jules let the silence hang a moment as she gained composure and looked at the twins who were now sleeping quietly "Well, Donny and Jimmy are not gonna be pleased their Daddy took their milk."]_

"God, Jules you don't mean … that I … that this is … "

 _["Yep. You took the breastmilk I expressed last night" Jules confirmed.]_

Sam looked down in the mug "Aw Christ Jules. We need a different container for that. I never want to taste …"

He stopped as Jules starting laughing heartily. Sam couldn't help but laugh too. If anyone had ever told him of the perils of fatherhood he would not have believed them.

When Sam quit laughing he said "You can't tell Spike."

 _["Oh and why not?" Jules teased knowing well and good she would never tell Spike.]_

"You know very well why. It will be all around SRU in an instant and … come on Jules you wouldn't … would you?" Sam questioned with a note of uncertainty.

 _[Sitting in the rocker Jules admitted with amusement in her voice "No I wouldn't. But it is fun to tease you."]_

"So do I need to bring this home? The boys won't go hungry will they?" Sam asked with real concern.

 _[Jules heart warmed, Sam was ever concerned about all of them. Softly Jules said "No you do not need to bring it home, just dump it out. The boys will not be hungry; I'll just pull one of the frozen ones out for Shel to use. And you are right. We will get something that won't get mixed up in the future."]_

* * *

 _ **Timmy's – 6:40 am**_

Sam needed coffee in the worst way. He yawned as he stood in line. He had changed quickly then dumped and rinsed the travel mug. He decided to head over to Timmy's to grab coffee for the whole team.

But Timmy's was very busy today and service from the new barista was slower than normal. It looked like they had a bunch of new employees. He didn't recognize any of them.

Their favorite barista, Tia, had graduated university and gotten her dream job as an underwriter just before Jules gave birth to the twins. Tia was now working for one of the premier companies in the surety industry. She was happily working providing contract bonds for building schools, courthouse or highways and commercial surety bonds for wineries, tax preparers, etc.

Grinning Sam thought that the SRU must have financed half of Tia's tuition over the years in tips alone. They always tipped way more than expected. If she had been a foster kid or orphan he would have made sure Tia got a scholarship.

But Tia wasn't, so he did the next best thing and helped how he could. All of SRU did. Tia was worth it. She was a bright young lady that worked hard to make her dreams come true.

Sam yawned hugely and covered it with his hand as people around him looked at him. Sam wondered if he should have done what Jules suggested and taken another few days.

He took one small step forward and leaned on the support pole that was in the middle of the room. At this rate he wondered if he would make it back in time for shift. There were still ten people ahead of him.

Yawning yet again Sam covered it and then crossed his arms over his chest. He closed his dry, scratchy, sleep deprived eyes as he waited for the new barista to call the next customer.

* * *

 _ **SRU HQ – Briefing Room – 7:05 am**_

Rollie sat down and looked at Team Three. He was shy one man. He asked "Anyone seen Braddock this morning?"

They all shook their heads.

Spike and Ed were walking past on their way out after shift when they heard Rollie. Spike said "I saw Sam's truck in the parking lot when we got back from our last call about ten after six."

Peter, the dispatcher overheard and informed everyone "Sam came in, changed and said he was heading over to Timmy's to grab coffee for the team."

Rollie nodded "Thanks Peter, when was that?"

"About thirty five to forty minutes ago" Peter answered.

Ed and Spike looked at each other. That was quite a long time to do a Timmy's run even if they were busy.

Spike said "I'll go see what is holding Sam up."

Ed added "I'll go with you."

Rollie said "Thanks."

* * *

 _ **Timmy's – 7:10 am**_

Spike and Ed strode quickly over to Timmy's. It was not that far from the barn.

As they crossed the street Spike said "Sam looked wiped out the other day when I stopped by."

Ed chuckled "We all know the sleepless nights with newborns. That first year with Izzy was tough with Sophie starting her catering business. Don't think I got much sleep that first year."

Spike nodded "Yeah MonaLisa was a quiet baby and Winnie got her sleeping on a schedule early on but I know what you mean. But two? Sam said Donny and Jimmy were colicky the past week so he has been up helping Jules with the babies at night and taking care of Sadie in the day so Jules can rest."

Ed pulled open the door to Timmy's and Spike entered first. He stopped dead in his tracks. Ed ran into him not expecting Spike to stop.

Spike's face lit into a grin. Ed's jaw dropped open and his eyes danced with amusement.

Tia, their favorite former barista, walked over to Spike and Ed. She was dressed smartly in her business suit and held a large Timmy's cup in her hand. She smiled and said "I figured someone would be coming to look for Sam soon. I came in to get a coffee and found him leaning on the pole."

She turned and looked at her handi-work. She had surrounded Sam with chairs to prevent anyone from running into him. She had put signs on the chairs that said SHHHH, DO NOT DISTURB. DO NOT WAKE.

Spike asked "Who put the chairs around him?"

Tia said "Me. I guess Sam must be pretty tired with having the twins and Sadie. He didn't wake when I called his name several times loudly. I remembered from one of the conversations years ago that Sam can be dangerous if startled awake. I figured that would be best for everyone. At least until one of you came looking for him."

Ed was laughing as he said "I still can't figure out how the hell Samo can sleep standing up."

Sam was standing, leaning against the pole with his arms folded across his chest in the middle of Timmy's. And Sam was most definitely sound asleep. Everyone in the Timmy's was intrigued by the sleeping SRU officer.

Ed stated loudly but not loudly enough to startle Sam "We got it. He's a new father of twins."

There were murmurers of empathy from several men and women.

Spike walked forward and stood just outside the ring of chairs protecting Sam. How best to wake him? He grinned. He could not help it. Spike stepped back and took out his phone. He took several pictures of Sam and quickly sent them to Jules.

His phone rang and he answered "Hey Jules. How should I wake him?"

 _[Jules laughed "First you are deleting every one of the photos you took. Second you are gonna put me on speaker phone. Third you are gonna bring Sam home. Clearly he is not fit to be at work today."]_

Spike put her on speaker phone and said "You are on speaker now. Ed and I will make sure we bring him home and arrange to get his shift covered. What do you want me to do now?"

 _[Jules said "Put the phone closer to Sam."]_

Spike stepped forward again and then reached out the phone close to Sam. "Okay Jules you are close."

 _["Sam. Hey Sam it is time to wake up. Sam" Jules said loudly.]_

Ed informed Jules "No response Jules. Sam must be really dead to the world. Has he slept at all?"

 _[Jules sighed "Sam said he has but he was probably just saying that. I caught him putting antibiotic cream on his toothbrush this morning."]_

Spike said "He's not waking and we are all talking. Should I touch him?"

Ed and Jules both nearly shouted "No!"

Spike shrugged "Okay, okay. I know that I shouldn't but what else can we do?"

Ed looked around and saw a broom. A long ago image of waking Sam from a nightmare with a hockey stick entered his head. No he didn't want to do it that way.

 _[Jules laughed then said "Okay this is gonna be mean but I have a way. Just be prepared to pick him up off the floor. Okay?"]_

Ed and Spike looked at each other and got a gut feeling that Sam wasn't gonna like being woken up like Jules planned. But Ed moved a few chairs away so Sam wouldn't hit them if he did actually fall. Then he answered "Okay Jules."

 _["Spike put the phone close to Sam again" Jules requested.]_

"There" Spike replied when the phone was close to Sam's ear.

 _[Loudly Jules stated "Sam I'm pregnant again with twins!"]_

Sam's eyes shot open panicked. They were wide with shock. Sam startled and lost his balance then slid down the pole to the ground wide awake and said "Jules? Pregnant? Twins? Again?"

Laughter burst out all around Timmy's.

Spike looked at Ed in disbelief that Jules just did that to Sam. Damn. Spike laughed "Oh Jules that was _soooo_ mean but it worked. Sam's awake."

Ed squatted down and chuckled as he said "Sam I'm adding in line at Timmy's to the unacceptable nap locations list."

Sam stared at Ed a moment as he became more aware of his surroundings as the shock of Jules' words wore off. He saw Tia looking at him with an amused smile. Crap. He ran his hands over his face. He fell asleep in line at Timmy.

 _[Jules said "Sam I'm not pregnant. Sorry to wake you that way. But Sam you are coming home and going straight to bed."]_

Sam smirked "You coming to bed too?"

 _[Jules laughed "Not unless you want to make that pregnant again truth."]_

Sam sucked in a deep breath and slowly released it "Guess I'm sleeping alone then."

 _["Just bring him home guys. I shouldn't have let him go in today in the first place. See you in a bit" Jules responded and then she hung up._

 _She really should have insisted Sam stay home. She would make sure he got the rest he needed today. Jules was also going to make sure he never did something as stupid as this again. Sam was loved to dearly to let him take risks like that.]_

Spike and Ed helped Sam up and Spike said "Let's go buddy. I'll drive you home and get you in bed."

Sam was very tired and felt a bit loopy for it as he gave Spike a lopsided grin "I like you and all Spike but I'm married and so are you and you are not quite my type."

Spike pretended a wounded look "Not your type, say it isn't so. Please say it isn't so. I've pined for you for years."

Ed just rolled his eyes "Sam you are so tired it's like you are on morphine. Spike I have no idea what your excuse is."

Sam blushed at that as he recalled what he said to Ed a very long time ago after getting bitten by the rabid raccoon. But Sam quipped "Spike is just special is all."

A grin split across Spike's face as he over animatedly swooned and joked "Oh I'm gonna faint. Samtastic thinks I'm special. Oh happy day."

Ed shook his head at their antics "I can't take you two anywhere can I? You're never gonna grow up are you?"

Both Sam and Spike shared a conspiratory grin and shook their heads.

"Come on, let's get Samo home before we have to add another unacceptable nap location to the list" Ed teased.

The three of them headed out of Timmy's as Ed pulled his phone out to call Rollie and let him know Sam would not be making it in for shift today and why.

Tia went up to the newest barista as Sam, Ed and Spike headed out and she said "Those are some great guys. Take good care of them for me."

Then she tipped the barista more than normal just like all the SRU men and women had done for her for years. Their generosity over the years had helped her a lot. She was paying it forward.

.

* * *

 _ **AN:**_ _Hope you enjoyed a more lighthearted story and my attempt at humor._

 _ **THANK YOU**_ _ **to all my wonderful supportive readers**_ _! I truly appreciate all your encouraging reviews and comments and get a kick out of reading them. I enjoy hearing what parts of the stories you liked and your thoughts and projections on what you might happen next. Sometimes your input inspires me and changes the direction of the story or adds an element I had not considered. Thank you all for your kind words and for defending me sometimes when some guests are not so supportive._


	4. Doorway to Spike's Tech Room

**Doorway to Spike's Tech Room**

* * *

 _ **Somewhere in SRU HQ**_

"Leave me the hell alone" he shouted as he stormed away.

Reaching out to grab his arm he wrenched him to a stop "You are not going anywhere."

Forcefully pulling his arm out of his grasp and striding forward again he yelled "Like hell I'm not. Just leave me alone."

Running to block his exit from the room he tried again "Stop. You can't go."

He never saw it coming. He should have reacted faster. He should have moved out of the way or blocked it. The punch to his jaw hit with full force and it took him unawares. His head slammed into something hard.

As he slid down to the ground he foggily watched him storm away not looking back once. He blinked several times trying to reorient himself. It was a futile attempt as he slipped unconscious.

* * *

 _ **Ten Minutes Earlier – SRU HQ – Gun Range**_

Ed looked around. He was missing again. Ed dropped his head and pinched the bridge of his nose. This was bad and it was getting worse. He would just disappear at odd times. His behavior was erratic.

He dropped his hand and strode over to Greg "He's gone again. We have to do something. This cannot continue."

Greg's eyes were sad as he looked at his team. His family was in a world of hurt. One in particular. Greg said "I know. We have all tried. I've talked with him but nothing seems to help."

Wordy joined them and said "Should I go look for him? He is hurting so badly."

Jules interjected "I've tried talking to him. He just is not hearing. I'm afraid he is self-destructing. I wish I could get through. But he has closed me out."

Sam stood at the entrance to the gun range listening. They didn't understand. They couldn't understand. None of them could really understand that kind of pain. He turned and walked away.

* * *

 _ **SRU HQ – Rooftop**_

Sam looked out at the city. The pain and anger mixed with grief. His hands clenched and unclenched repeatedly. Why? Why? Why?

He fought the tears. He fought the need to punch something. His hands were still a bloody mess from punching walls, doors and trees.

Nothing he did released the pain.

Sam turned and strode from the roof making a decision. It was time to act. Taking action might help release the pain, anger and grief he felt.

* * *

 _ **SRU HQ – Spike's Tech Room**_

Sam had known exactly where to find Spike. He walked into the tech room to find his friend hunched over the table. He walked up close and Spike did not even register he was there.

Lightly placing a hand on Spike's shoulder Sam said quietly "Spike. Buddy?"

Slowly Spike looked up and at Sam. "What do you want?"

Sam felt the agony rolling off Spike in waves. Spike's deep grief and anguish showed clearly. His eyes were red-rimmed and blood shot. There were fresh tears in them too. Sam's heart went out to his friend.

"We all see you are hurting. The whole team is hurting. I know that there is nothing that I can say that will ease your pain. I know. I've been there" Sam softly said.

Spike pulled away from Sam's touch. He did not want to talk about it. Everyone wanted him to talk. Talk. Talk. Talk. Fuck talking. Talking would not bring Lou back.

He stood up and backed away from Sam "I'm done. I can't do this anymore."

Sam dropped his hand "Buddy what do you mean you are done?"

His mind was racing. Sam recalled what he meant by I'm done after Matt died. Spike couldn't mean that. No Spike wouldn't … would he?"

"Talk to me. Don't do anything rash. Please" Sam begged as thoughts of Spike eating his gun came to mind. God he could not allow that to happen. Lou and Spike were brothers and losing a brother was ungodly painful. But Spike was strong, all he needed was some time and a little help and Spike could get through the excruciating pain.

Spike undid the snap on his holster.

Sam tensed ready to react.

Spike removed his gun and put it on the table.

Sam relaxed seeing the gun on the table. Relief washed through Sam at first. Not suicide.

Spike reached into his back pocket and pulled out his SRU id and slammed it on the table next to his gun.

"I'm done. I can't do it anymore" Spike stated as fresh tears welled in his eyes. He angrily wiped them away.

Sam was back to being tense. No. No Spike could not leave Team One. Spike's I'm done was saying he couldn't do SRU anymore. He couldn't let Spike do that.

As he reached out for Spike, Sam pleaded "Spike don't …"

"Leave me the hell alone" Spike shouted cutting him off as he stormed away.

Barely grabbing Spike's arm Sam wrenched him to a stop "You are not going anywhere."

Forcefully pulling his arm out of Sam's grasp and striding forward again Spike yelled "Like hell I'm not. Just leave me alone."

Running to block Spike's exit from the room Sam tried again "Stop. You can't go."

Sam never saw it coming. It was so out of character for Spike. But it shouldn't have been unexpected. Sam should have reacted faster. He should have moved out of the way or blocked it. But the punch to his jaw hit with full force and took him unawares. Sam's head slammed into the door jamb.

As Sam slid down the door he foggily watched his friend storm away not looking back once. Sam blinked several times trying to reorient himself. It was a futile attempt as his body continued to slide to the ground and he slipped unconscious.

* * *

 _ **SRU HQ – Gun Range**_

Ed looked around and noticed that not only was Spike missing but Sam had never come back from getting the team more ammo. He removed his ear and eye protection and secured his weapon. Then he walked over to Greg and said "I'm going to see what is keeping Braddock and swing by Spike's tech room."

Greg nodded "Go easy Ed. Spike is at a breaking point."

"Maybe we should make him take more time off. Lou's death hit us all hard but nothing like it hit Spike" Ed said.

Nodding Greg acknowledged "I've been thinking that very same thing. Spike clearly was not ready to come back yet. It was too soon. Just a moment and I'll come with you."

Ed waited while Greg secured his weapon and prepared to head out.

* * *

 _ **SRU HQ – Doorway Spike's Tech Room**_

Greg and Ed were discussing just how to break it to Spike that they were ordering him to take additional time off. As they rounded the corner to Spike's tech room they were presented with a sight they were not expecting.

Sam was sprawled out on the floor in the doorway.

Ed and Greg raced to Sam. Ed dropped to his knees by Sam.

Greg stepped over him and into the tech room looking for Spike. His eyes landed on Spike's gun and SRU id. Son of a bitch.

He picked up Spike's id. This was worse than he thought. Greg turned around and crouched down next to Sam too.

As Ed lightly tapped Sam's face he said "Samo. Samo. Come on. Wake up."

Greg said quietly as he showed Spike's id to Ed "Sam's out cold. Spike's gun and id were on the bench. You don't think?"

Ed looked at the bruise forming on Sam's jaw "Yeah I do think. I'm just surprised Sam didn't block the punch."

A surprised half-snort emitted form Greg "Probably wasn't expecting something like that from Spike."

Ed's brows arched up as he nodded in agreement.

Sam blinked his eyes open and quickly got his bearing. He saw Ed and Greg in front of him.

Ed asked "Samo, what you doing on the floor in the doorway to Spike's tech room?"

Ah crap Sam thought. He could not let them know Spike hit him. He did not want Spike getting in trouble. Sam said the first thing that came to mind "Napping."

Ed and Greg turned to look at each other. They both turned back to Sam. It was clear Sam was covering for Spike. There was a budding friendship.

A thought came to Greg's mind. Sam was probably the only one on the team that truly understood the pain that Spike was feeling. Maybe, just maybe if Sam could talk to Spike it might help.

Greg simply nodded then stood up and said "Ed, please add the doorway to Spike's tech room to the unacceptable napping locations list."

Ed stood and held out a hand to help Sam up "Will do Boss."

As Sam stood up Greg said "Sam since Team One is still not taking hot calls I need you to find Spike and give him back his id. He seems to have left it on his workbench. Take all the time you need."

Sam took Spike's SRU id from Greg and said "He might be outside the building."

Ed caught Greg's drift and he said to Sam "Where ever he is, find him and tell him that we expect him back here in a week."

Sam understood "I'll do my best."

Greg patted Sam's shoulder and said softly with a small smile "That all we can ask."

As Sam turned to head out Ed called out "Braddock just remember to block next time. Spike may be a geek but he is a geek with combat skills."

Sam laughed "Copy that."

* * *

 _ **One Week Later – SRU HQ – Spike's Tech Room**_

Sam casually leaned on the doorway of Spike's tech room as he called out "Hey Spike."

Spike turned "What?"

"Pizza and beer at my place tonight" Sam stated.

Nodding Spike said "Sounds good. I'll bring a movie."

Sam laughed and said "Something good this time. That last one had me sleeping before the opening credits even finished."

Spike grinned "Sure buddy."

They both heard Ed call for Sam and Sam said "See ya later."

As Sam walked off Spike watched him go. He could not believe he had punched Sam out a week ago. He could not believe he was ready to walk away from SRU too. He had been in such a bad place missing Lou. He had been so lost.

When Sam had found him crying in his car in the parking lot of the SRU Sam had driven him to his apartment and nearly carried him up. Over the last week he had stayed at Sam's place. It was more comfortable than his home. He did not have to deal with his father's stares or his Ma's tears.

Today was his first day back and Spike felt stronger. He felt he could do this again.

Sam had let him scream and cry and vent all his pain, anguish and anger over Lou's death. Sam had held him every night when the nightmares came. Sam held him as he shook uncontrollably and cleaned him up when he vomited. But Spike never read anything but acceptance and understanding in Sam's eyes.

It took five days before they actually talked. He had asked Sam why he was doing this for him. Sam had been quiet a long time when he asked that question. But then Sam shared that Matt had done it for him. Matt had been there in his darkest days and pulled him through.

Then Sam shared some about his friend Matt. Spike then understood that Sam knew exactly what he was feeling. They had both lost their brothers in all but blood in horrible ways. It was a pain that they had in common.

It helped knowing that someone understood what he was feeling. They were forming a stronger bond based on a similar loss. Spike thought that Lou would be happy that he was becoming best friends with Sam. Lou would approve.

On the sixth day they spent the whole evening swapping funny stories about Lou and Matt. It was nice to be able to share all those memories with someone who understood what it was like to lose someone so important. Sam helped him see that Lou would always be alive in his memories and in his heart.

Spike knew nothing would ever bring Lou back. No one would ever take Lou's place. But Sam was showing him that Lou would want him to continue doing what they both loved. Lou would want him to continue making a difference.

He stared at the empty doorway and chuckled lightly. Last night Sam had shared with him what the Boss had said when Ed and the Boss found Sam out cold in the doorway. They had a good laugh over the doorway to his tech room being added Samtastic's list of unacceptable napping locations.

Turning to the wall behind his workbench Spike looked at the picture of him, Lou and Sam.

Quietly Spike whispered "I miss you Lou. I always will buddy. Say hi to Matt. I wish I could have met him. From Sam's stories the four of us would have had a good time together."

 _._

* * *

 _ **AN:** Lou's death and Spike's pain are sad I know but also the beginning of a beautiful friendship for Sam and Spike._


	5. SRU Shower Floor

**SRU Shower Floor**

* * *

 _ **SRU HQ – Shoot House**_

"Where the hell is he?" Nicholas whispered to Frank.

Sam grinned. They would never find him. He just needed to wait until Troy joined Nicholas and Frank. Team One was so winning this one.

He locked is legs in position in the rafters and waited. Frank and Nicholas searched the room but never once looked up. Sam took aim as he heard another set of boots making their way into the room.

Rapidly Sam fired off three shots of his paintball gun. Then he released his leg lock and swung down from the rafters.

Troy was standing looking a bit shell shocked "Braddock I'll be damned. Up. I should have looked up. I learn something new from you every damned time."

Frank and Nicholas were grumbling good-naturedly as they headed out. It was six against one and they just got their asses handed to them, _again_.

Sam grinned broadly "Happy to teach you. That's another win for Team One."

Troy laughed "Well technically since you are covering half a shift for Bill today it is still a win for Team Four."

"Ah I beg to differ. All six of Team Four against little old me. I'm calling it a Team One win" Sam chuckled.

Ed walked into the shoot house and said "Samo doin' Team One proud!"

"Yep!" Sam answered with a grin.

Troy asked Ed "What are you doing here so early?"

Ed smiled "Samo and I just pulled public relations duty."

He looked at Sam and instructed "Go shower and we will head out in thirty. Hal and Curtis were supposed to cover but Hal went and slipped on some ice and Curtis had to take him to the urgent care to get his wrist checked out."

Sam looked at Ed "It isn't near a dock is it?"

"Nope. Someplace more dangerous … private high school academy for girls" Ed replied with a grin.

Sam cringed inwardly. "Um, Ed … I thought Jules was our go to person for these things. Why isn't she going with you?" Sam asked.

Ed arched a brow and explained "Finished her forty hours community service. So now we get to rotate these things. We should be wrapped up before shift starts."

Sam nodded knowing there was absolutely no way of getting out of going. "Okay give me fifteen and I'll be ready."

Ed nodded and Sam headed in for a shower and change of uniform. Ed watched him go. Then he turned to Troy and said with a serious note to his voice "So six against one. Not nice odds."

At Ed's change of tone Troy tensed. Everyone knew that Ed was fiercely protective of his entire team but especially of Sam. They had had a rough start but he could see Ed and Sam had a strong friendship now.

Troy's tone and body language was defensive "Hey, hey, we were not ganging up on Sam. No need to go all protective Ed. I just wanted him to show …"

Ed laughed "No you misunderstood. Not nice odds for your team. Samo took you all out."

Troy laughed with relief "Ed don't do that to me. You know I learn something from him every time."

"What did ya learn this time?" Ed asked with a smirk.

"To look up" Troy stated as he glanced at the rafters again.

Ed nodded then clapped Troy on the shoulder "Good lesson."

Troy nodded "Yeah good lesson" and then they both started for the barn.

* * *

 _ **SRU HQ – Locker Room**_

Team Four minus their Sergeant Troy and Bill who was out sick were in the locker room as Sam headed off into the showers. They were all joking about how Sam had handed them their butts in the training drills they ran today.

Heath said "You know we need to find a way to get him back. You know he scared the crap out of me when he fired from the rafters."

Frank remarked "I never saw it coming. He took out me, Nicholas and Troy so fast."

Jarred smiled and rubbed his hands together "Hey I have an idea. It should be fun. I have this air horn. What if one of us sneaks into the showers and …"

Nicholas interrupted "You can't sneak up on him. Spike had tried so many times. I think he's given up on being able to prank Sam."

Jarred got up and got his air horn. His grin was huge "All the more reason for us to try. I don't think Sam will be expecting it from us. Can you imagine Spike's envy if we pull this off?"

Heath, Nicholas, Frank and Devon all shared a look and nodded.

Devon said "Okay we're in. What do you want to do?"

"Okay, you, Frank, Heath and Nick go in there talking loud to distract him. I'll sneak in the shower stall next to him and then blast the air horn" Jarred explained.

Heath said "Too bad we can't film it. But that would just be wrong seeing it is in the shower."

The five guys headed for the showers as Ed and Troy entered the locker room.

* * *

 _ **SRU HQ – Showers**_

Sam rinsed his hair quickly as his mind mulled over doing another public relations gig. He had not done one since Darby Dock. Jules had done all of them since then. The little kids were fun. But how would he handle a gaggle of teenage girls. It would be unnerving to be surrounded by so many teenage girls. This one really had Jules' name written all over it.

He sighed and turned to wash his chest. Sam was careful not to get his face in the stream of water. He still could not stand to have water hit his face directly. Sam wondered if he ever would be able to handle that again without feeling a sense of panic.

Probably not. Three months of water boarding twice a day had affected him. A cool glass of water still sometimes felt like a luxury. Water directly in his face still felt like torture and could send him spiraling back there.

He leaned forward to grab the soap as he heard the rest of Team Four heading into the showers. An air horn blasted.

Sam dropped the soap as he startled. His face ended up in the stream of water. He panicked. His foot stepped on the bar of soap and he slipped.

He went down fast and struck his forehead hard on the corner of the small tile bench in the shower. Sam landed on his side with his face in the flow of the shower head. Panic overwhelmed him and Sam passed out.

At several cries of "Oh Shit" following the air horn blast Ed and Troy raced into the shower area.

Frank raced into the stall and turned off the water. He looked up in time to see an extremely pissed off Ed.

Ed roared "What the hell is going on?" as he grabbed Sam's towel and hurried into the shower. He quickly covered Sam's body then stared daggers at Frank who was now crouching down next to Sam's head.

Frank swallowed hard "Prank. It was only a harmless prank."

Ed bellowed "Out. Now!"

The five men left quickly.

Troy brought another towel and a washcloth. He handed the towel to Ed as he pressed the washcloth to the small bleeding cut on Sam's forehead.

Ed dried Sam's face. Then lightly tapped his cheeks "Hey Samo. Samo. You okay?"

In a disgruntled tone Troy said "They didn't mean any harm Ed."

Ed glared at Troy "They may not have meant it but clearly they were not thinking."

Sam blinked several times and his eyes opened owlishly wide. He connected with Ed's eyes as the blind panic receded. He was not there. He was at SRU. He was in the … What the hell? … He was in the shower on the god damned floor.

He scrambled back into the corner taking the towel with him and trying to put as much distance as possible between him and Ed and Troy.

Ed could see the panic. He needed to diffuse Sam's panic. Humor might work.

He grinned and said "You know Samo that list of unacceptable nap locations is getting rather long. Now I have to add SRU shower floor too it."

Troy looked at Ed confused.

Sam half-laughed nervously. He could tell Ed was giving him an out. He took it and quipped "Yeah well. I needed a bit of a nap before facing hundreds of teenage girls."

Troy stood and backed out of the shower. He could see no real damage had been done, Ed had it well in hand and Sam could use some space. He turned and headed for the locker room. Troy needed to have a word with his team on acceptable pranks. Air horns in the shower was unacceptable.

After Troy left Ed asked "You okay?"

Sam ran a shaky hand through his wet hair. He dropped his eyes not wanting to answer.

Ed stood and backed up. He could see Sam was trying to compose himself. He had a gut feeling there was more to this than simply being startled by an air horn but he would not push Sam.

He said "Finish showering. I'll meet you in the locker room with a butterfly bandage for your forehead."

Sam nodded and slowly rose on unsteady legs. He turned on the shower and quickly finished his shower.

* * *

 _ **SRU HQ – Locker Room**_

The locker room was empty with the exception of Ed when Sam returned from the shower. Sam sat down on the bench in his towel. He was able to regain his equilibrium but he realized he should probably explain to Ed. But that wouldn't be easy showing a weakness to Ed.

Ed said "Turn towards me and let me get that bandage on. I can see the bruise forming now." Then he lightly teased "All those teenage girls are gonna swoon. Nothing more attractive than a wounded hero."

Sam let Ed apply the butterfly bandage without reacting to his words. Then he quickly dressed. He was somewhat surprised Ed did not push him for an explanation of his panic or ask him if his head was in the game.

* * *

 _ **Two Hours Later – SUV EnRoute Back to SRU HQ**_

Ed glanced at Sam. He had done well with the presentation. It was hard not to laugh at how all the girls went gaga over Sam. They stared at him with their tongues almost hanging out.

The principal had joked with Ed that they needed to get guys like Sam to teach so the girls would actually pay attention. Ed had joked back that that was not such a good idea. It was doubtful that the girls would recall anything other than Sam's pretty face. The principal laughed as he conceded the point.

But now Sam looked pensive. So Ed asked "Samo you alright?"

Sam leaned back on the headrest and closed his eyes. He had debated with himself over the last two hours whether to actually say anything to Ed. He blew out a breath and said "Been better."

Ed nodded "Head hurting?"

"No, it's not that" Sam started.

Ed waited. He wondered if Sam would open up and tell him what caused his panic. His wait was rewarded when Sam sighed again then revealed what happened.

Sam sighed and said "Remember when I talked about my captivity?"

Ed nodded and slowed down. He saw a Timmy's and pulled into the parking lot. Putting the SUV in park Ed finally answered "Yeah."

"I told you that I was waterboarded daily" Sam shared.

"Uh huh" Ed responded.

Sam raked his hands through his hair and then turned to Ed "I cannot stand water sprayed directly in my face. It screws with my head. Sends me right back there. When I slipped the water hit me in the face. When I fell it hit me there too. I panicked. My head is on straight now but I just wanted you to know."

Ed nodded "Okay then. Thanks for trusting me with that Sam. How about we grab a coffee."

"Yeah I could use one" Sam said again surprised at Ed's easy acceptance. He was glad he shared that with Ed.

* * *

 _ **SRU HQ – Dispatcher Desk**_

Ed and Sam entered SRU HQ and stopped at the dispatcher desk. Ed smiled at Winnie and said "Got you a coffee Winnie."

She smiled warmly "Thanks Ed." Then she held out a white envelope to Sam and said "Troy wanted me to give this to you Sam."

Sam took the envelope as Ed looked on. He opened it and found a single piece of paper and a gift card to Timmy's. Sam quickly read it and smiled.

Ed asked "What is it?"

Sam said "An apology from Team Four for the prank gone wrong. And a gift card to Timmy's."

Ed patted Sam's back "Nice."

They heard Team One in the briefing room and headed into the room.

* * *

 _ **SRU HQ – Briefing Room**_

Team One was just gathering for start of shift briefing when Ed and Sam walked in. Everyone immediately noticed the bruise and bandage on Sam's forehead.

Jules asked in a teasing tone "Rough crowd at the all-girls high school Sam?"

Ed chuckled "Nah Samo had them drooling and eating out of his hand."

Wordy pulled out his chair and sat down as Sam headed to his chair "So how'd you get colorful then?"

Ed quipped "Napping on the shower floor."

Greg chuckled "You add it to the unacceptable nap locations list Eddie?"

"Damn straight" Ed said pulling out his chair and grinning at Sam.

Lou asked "How'd you end up napping in the shower Sam?"

Sam rolled his eyes and laughed as he sat down. He waved the gift card and said "Small prank gone awry. Got me some Timmy's out of it though."

Spike sat up in surprised disbelief "Prank? Prank? Team Four pranked you?"

Ed responded with a hint of anger covering his concern "I wouldn't classify it as a prank Spike."

Sam chuckled "I would. Spike you want to help me figure out how to get them back?"

Spike laughed and rubbed his hands together excitedly "Absolutely!"

* * *

 _ **AN:** For those wondering I have not abandoned Ski Trip, Alpha Injuries or Rescue of Master Corporal Sam Braddock. I am focusing mostly on trying to wrap up You have Always Been Loved (getting closer to the end). When my muse struggles these little side stories pop in. I do have a cool concept for 'W' of Alpha Injuries and will try to get it written this weekend._


	6. SRU Elevator

**SRU Elevator**

* * *

 _ **SRU HQ – Briefing Room**_

"Okay boys and girl it is time to keep the peace. Off you go" Greg said finishing morning start of shift briefing.

The entire team rose and started to head out the door. Greg said "Sam hold up a moment."

Sam stopped and said "Jules I'll meet you at the SUV in a few minutes."

Jules nodded and headed off. She wondered what Sarge wanted to say to Sam that he could not say in front of the rest of the team. They had been treating Sam better since the come to Jesus meeting at the Sarge's home.

She noticed that the Sarge often pulled Sam off to the side and spoke with him without the team. Jules had tried occasionally, unsuccessfully to find out what the Sarge talked to him about. She sighed and headed out to the SUV. She would do a quick inventory while Sam spoke with the Sarge.

Sam turned and headed back into the briefing room. The Sarge had been keeping close tabs on him lately. Especially after he was found asleep on the rooftop. It felt like he was a bit under the microscope. But he didn't really get a bad vibe from Sarge it was more like he really cared.

Something had changed with the team after they had to take a mandatory week off a month or so ago. Sarge had called them all in separately and told them they had had too many high risk calls and that Holleran insisted that all of Team One take a week off.

That week had been welcome but frustrating too. He didn't have to put up with the team yelling at him every shift. Mocking him for screwing up. Ed being in his face about not following policies and procedures.

It had given him a week to read every SRU manual cover to cover multiple times. He could almost recite them verbatim now. It had also given him a week to decide if he would stay.

He was so close to calling it quits before that week off. The pearl handled colt's voice had gotten stronger and stronger to the point he found himself seriously contemplating suicide again. But not so much now.

That week off resulted in him sleeping much more than he had since he had killed Matt. The over the counter sleeping aid had helped. He had finally given in and bought some. He took some a few nights during that week because he was not on call and did not need to worry about over sleeping if he took them.

Sam felt somewhat weak taking them but he really needed some sleep. So he had resorted to taking them that week but refused to take them once he returned to work. He could not afford to be groggy at work.

The sleeping aid was the same brand that Patch had said he could safely take on and intermittent basis. It was what Patch would slip him sometimes when he came back from a mission with another unit too wired to sleep but in desperate need of rest or when the nightmares got too much.

Sam felt the pang of loss when he thought about Patch. It led him to think about Matt, Blaze, Winds, Mason and Ripsaw. He had had lost all of them when he killed Matt. Well actually he lost Ripsaw before then. His death was extremely painful to think about just like Matt's. And Mason had been away for several years ever since he moved on to command his own unit. But he fully lost Mason too when he killed Matt.

He sat down in the chair and pushed those thoughts away as he waited for the Sarge to sit down.

Greg took a moment to look at his rookie. He had been doing impromptu check-ins with Sam ever since the team had meet and reviewed how horribly they had treated Sam. They were all trying to get to know Sam and to make up for how badly they treated him.

Sitting down Greg gave Sam a warm smile and asked "I did not get a chance to check in with you last night. How are you doing after our last call yesterday?"

Sam kind of figured this might be the reason for the sit down. He answered "Doing okay. It's not the first time for a lethal."

Kind eyes looked at Sam "Did Agent Donner give you a hard time again?"

Shaking his head no Sam answered "Dale Gibbson arrived at SIU before I even got there. Dale kept him mostly in line."

"Good. I'm glad Gibbson is in your corner. I'm not sure what is up with Donner. Not all the SIU Agents are like that" Greg said.

Sam raised one eyebrow "I wouldn't really know. Seems I end up with Donner each time."

Greg asked "Any questions?"

Sam shook his head "No. It was clear cut and by the book. You did all you could. We couldn't allow him to throw the children off the bridge."

He hadn't really wanted to shoot the man in front of the children but their lives were more important. They would be getting counseling. Not that that ever help him after Sara died in front of him. But it did help many people. He hoped it would help the children

Taking a deep breath Greg tried to read Sam. It was so damned hard. Sam was always so closed off. His normal military clipped answers were expanding and softening slightly. But he was still so different than the rest of the team.

Greg smiled and said "Okay then. If you ever want to talk I'm here for that Sam. You can talk to me about anything."

Sam stood and almost came to attention as he said "Is that all Sir? … Sarge."

Greg nodded "Yeah that's all. Jules is waiting. Keep the peace."

That attention stance was also starting to relax Greg thought and Sam was transitioning to calling him Sarge or Boss like the others. The sirs were getting less and less.

Sam turned with military precision and strode out. He was ready to get out patrolling. Sam was enjoying the banter that was beginning between him and Jules. Their conversation were often multi-level. It was kinda fun.

Greg sighed seeing the military stride. They were making inroads but ... it was such a slow process.

He feared at one point they would lose Sam to suicide with the way the team treated him. Especially after learning about his best friend Matt. That fear was diminishing a little bit each day though. Greg turned to the paperwork he had to do.

Greg heard Kira ask Sam "Hey Sam could you run these three boxes down to records for me on your way out?"

* * *

 _ **SRU HQ – Dispatcher Desk**_

Kira saw Sam heading out of the briefing room. She smiled at him. He gave her a small smile back. God he was handsome when he smiled. She wondered what he would look like if his smile lit his eyes.

In her brightest voice Kira asked "Hey Sam could you run these three boxes down to records for me on your way out?"

Sam looked down at the three banker boxes and answered "Sure no problem Kira."

He bent down and picked them up. They were not all that heavy but they were rather awkward and blocked his view when he lifted them. Sam headed for the stairs peeking around the side of the boxes.

Kira called out "Sam you should take the elevator. Carrying those down the stairs could be hazardous."

Sam replied "I'm good."

Laughing Kira said "Don't say I didn't warn you. Can you imagine how much Ed would yell if you accidentally tripped? Not to mention I'd make you sort out all the files if they got mixed up."

Cringing inwardly Sam simply deviated from his path to the stairs and headed for the elevator. Sam pushed the button for the elevator and waited. He felt a spike of anxiety in the pit of his stomach.

* * *

 _ **SRU HQ – Elevator**_

When the doors opened Sam entered and pressed the button for the basement with his extended middle finger. He laughed lightly to himself to dispel his anxiety. He was flipping off the elevator.

Sam hated elevators. He avoided them like the plague. Tight metal, small spaces unnerved him ever since the Humvee incident. Being trapped in the Humvee with Mason while Mason tried to pull out that damned shard had been disturbing and somewhat painful. Sam had feared Mason would succeed and he would have to watch his brother die.

The doors closed and Sam felt the world close in around him. Sam hummed softly trying to distract himself.

He never took the elevator at his apartment complex anymore. It broke down too often. He had been trapped in it once for five minutes when the power surged and then reset. That was more than enough. Sam justified his avoidance as a means to stay fit. Jogging up ten flights at the end of shift was often difficult but better that than get stuck again.

Sam glanced up at the numbers as they slowly counted down. The number one just dimmed and he was waiting for the B to illuminate. He could jog back up the stairs after he dropped the boxes off at records. He blew out a slow breath.

The elevator came to a stop with a jerk and the emergency lighting turned on as the bright overhead lights flickered and turned off.

Crap!

Sam set the boxes down and pressed the buttons. Nothing he did got it going again. Sam pulled out his phone and dialed.

* * *

 _ **SRU HQ – Dispatcher Desk**_

Kira answered the direct line to SRU "Strategic Response Unit."

 _["Hey Kira, Sam here. Um … the elevator is stuck. Any idea why?" Sam asked keeping his voice low and hopefully calm sounding.]_

Kira looked at the elevator. "You're stuck in the elevator?" she asked with a note of disbelief.

 _[Sam paced the two steps one way and turned to pace the two steps the other way as he responded "Um yeah. Stopped between first and basement."]_

"Okay I'll get a hold of maintenance" Kira stated.

 _["Um can you let Sarge know? Jules is waiting for me too" Sam stated as he paced like a caged lion and his anxiety increased.]_

Kira answer "Yeah I'll let him know." Kira laughed and teased as she said "Just don't go anywhere and I'll get maintenance here soon."

 _[Letting out a nervous laugh Sam responded "Okay." Then he hung up._

 _Don't go anywhere Sam thought. Yeah right. He looked up at the ceiling of the elevator. Perhaps he could climb out and pry open the door to the first floor._

 _No. No. Then you would show your weakness to the team. Tough it out Braddock. You can do this. It is just an elevator.]_

Kira called maintenance and then called out to Greg "Boss."

Greg looked up from his paperwork and saw Kira motion to him. He stood and went to her desk "Yes Kira."

"Sam was taking some boxes down to records for me on his way out. The elevator is stuck between the first and basement floors. I've called maintenance but they say it will be at least an hour before they can get a technician here. Sorry but Sam is stuck in the elevator."

Greg nodded "Okay. Thanks for letting me know. I'll let Jules know." Then he started back to the briefing room.

Kira called out "You want me to let Sam know it will be an hour?"

Calling over his shoulder Greg said "No I'll call him."

Greg thought for a moment that given the little he knew about his rookie, Sam would not be pleased about being stuck in an elevator. He would probably be worried about being yelled at for taking the boxes down to records for Kira instead of going directly to meet Jules. He would call him and assure Sam that it was okay. But first he would call Jules so she did not worry that Sam had not shown up yet.

* * *

 _ **SRU HQ – Elevator**_

Sam was pacing in a circle around his small metal box. He was actively doing sniper breathing to quell the rising anxiety. He wiped at the sweat that was beginning to bead on his forehead. He was telling himself it is only an elevator, just an elevator. Maintenance will be here in just a few moments and then you will be free.

Relax Braddock, you are not some nervous nelly.

He forced himself to stop pacing. Sam leaned back against the wall and slowed his breathing and his racing mind. Chill, just chill. He conjured up an image of being up in a tree with the wind blowing in his face. Sam felt his heartrate begin to slow.

Sam told himself he could do this. Maintenance would have him out in just a few more minutes. He could trick his mind for a few minutes.

It was no different than going someplace else when he was being tortured. Just take your mind someplace else. You are not here in this little metal box. You are in a tree. There is a cool wind blowing. You can see the white puffy clouds. What shapes do you see in the clouds?

His phone rang and startled him from his made up world. Sam answered "Braddock."

 _[Greg said "Sam I hear you were doing Kira a favor and the elevator broke down on you. First, thank you for helping Kira. Second, I let Jules know where you are. Third, Kira called maintenance. I'm sorry to tell you but you are gonna be stuck in there a while. It will take maintenance at least an hour before they can get here."]_

Sam drew a sharp breath in. Oh crap. At least an hour? Sam's eyes scanned the little metal box. An hour. Could he do an hour in here. His heartrate sped up. He began to sweat in earnest. Sam wiped at his forehead.

He took in a shaky breath and tried for cool and collected as he said "Okay Sarge."

 _[The sharp intake of breath was not missed by Greg. He wondered at it. Then he heard the slight tremor to Sam's voice as he spoke._

 _"Sam you okay?" Greg asked.]_

"Yeah I'm fine" Sam answered.

He was glad the team did not know his definition of fine. He could deflect easily with them with a single word. Ed used the word fine all the time and the team accepted it at face value.

 _[Greg still heard the slight tremor in Sam's voice. Perhaps Sam was claustrophobic. If he was, the rookie would not easily admit that. It would not be a good thing to ask him outright either. Greg was sure he would get the answer no whether it was the truth or not. Maybe talking to Sam would help distract him._

 _Using his calm negotiations tone Greg said "Good thing it is a slow day. Why don't you just take a seat and relax."_

 _He heard a shaky intake of breath at that and he could hear Sam pacing. Sam's boots sounded heavy as he paced. Nope relaxing would not happen. Greg needed to distract his rookie._

 _Greg asked "So Sam what is in the boxes that Kira had you taking down?"]_

Sit down and relax, right, not happening Sam thought. He started to pace again as the Sarge told him to sit down and relax. His boots were loud as they connected with the floor of the elevator. Relax, ha! He drew in another shaky breath.

But then the Sarge asked what was in the boxes.

Sam stopped pacing in circles and looked at the boxes "I'm not sure" he answered.

 _[Good he stopped pacing Greg thought and smiled. "Open one and find out" Greg instructed Sam.]_

Sam wiped the sweat from his forehead again and then reached out and lifted the lid on the top box. He peered in and replied "Call records for Team Two."

 _[Perfect Greg thought. Just the thing to distract Sam._

 _Greg said calmly "Okay. Good. Let's make good use of your time then. How about you pull out the first one and let's review it together. We need to work on your negotiation and profiling skills so this is a good time to do it."]_

Sam pulled out the file. He put his phone on speaker and said "Give me a second to rearrange the boxes and make a table of sorts."

He put his phone on the floor when Greg told him sure no problem. He moved the boxes and arranged them next to each other forming a table. Sam put his phone on the box and then opened the other box and took out the top file. Putting the lid back down he set the file on the makeshift table and opened it.

After scanning it briefly Sam said "It was a call two weeks ago. Robbery at Thunderwheels Automotive that turned into a hostage situation."

 _[Greg nodded as he recalled talking to Camden Bradley about that one in yesterday's Sergeant's meeting. It would be a good one to illustrate negotiation techniques to Sam._

 _He said "Good. Why don't you read it out and then we can discuss the points along the way."]_

Sam started reading the call record. Over the next twenty minutes they reviewed the entire call. They discussed how Sergeant Bradley had handled the negotiations. The Sarge asked him questions and he had to really think about his answers. Then they discussed his answers and why he thought certain things. He asked the Sarge why Bradley did some of the things he did.

He was thinking that he would never quite get negotiations. There were so many variables. You might think your words were correct and would elicit one set of actions only to have them produce something totally unexpected. As in the case of this call.

Sam leaned back on the elevator wall as Greg concluded his last thought on the case. Then Sam said "Okay I get why he did that now. I just wouldn't have expected it to go that way. That the subject would give up."

 _[Greg grinned. He could tell Sam's breathing was normal and he was fully engaged in their discussion. He was fully distracted from his current anxiety over being in the elevator. This was actually good. He was getting some mentoring time with Sam. Greg could tell Sam was really trying to understand._

 _He said "How about you pull out another file and we can discuss that one."]_

Sam put the call record back into the folder and then opened the box again. He put it back and was about to pull out the next when over the phone and through the elevator he heard Kira's voice call out "Hot Call Team One."

 _[Greg said "Sorry Sam I gotta go. You review the next one. If you are not out of the elevator when I return we can discuss it. If you get out before we get back join us."]_

Sam responded "Stay safe."

* * *

 _ **SRU HQ – Dispatcher Desk**_

"Will do" Greg replied to Sam then hung up as he strode to Kira's desk.

Jules met him there as he asked Kira "What is the call?"

Kira answered "Jumper on the Highland Street over pass. Fifteen year old girl, Bettina Granger. Her friend Kelly Yarns called it in. Bettina just found out she is pregnant by her boyfriend and is afraid to tell her parents."

Jules wanted to have as much information from the girlfriend before she engaged with Bettina. She blew out a breath and instructed "Kira patch me into Kelly."

Kira nodded and did so. Greg and Jules headed out together. The team would all converge at the Highland Street overpass.

As they headed out Greg hoped that Sam would be distracted enough reading the call logs on his own. He stopped a moment and turned back to Kira "How much longer until the elevator maintenance guy gets here?"

Kira grimaced "They called and said it will be another hour. They have had a rash of calls but we are next on the list."

A low frustrated exhale from Greg was the only outward sign of his displeasure. It was not Kira's fault but he wished they were here sooner rather than later. If Sam was claustrophobic it would be really tough for him to handle being in that elevator too much longer. He wanted to be the voice in Sam's ear keeping him calm and relaxed but duty called.

* * *

 _ **SRU HQ – Elevator**_

Sam read the call log. This one did not go as well as the other one and Hal had been given Scorpio and had taken the lethal shot. When he read it, it seemed to him that Sergeant Bradley said all the right things. But it still ended with the subject escalating and being killed.

He put the call record back into the file and put it back into the box. Sam checked his watch. He had been in here over an hour now. He was wondering what was taking so long. Sam pulled out his phone and called Kira.

When she answered Sam asked "Kira, ETA on the maintenance guy?"

 _[Kira sighed and said quickly "Sorry Sam. His last job is taking longer than expected. He just called again to say it would be another hour before he can get here."]_

Sam stood up and stretched his legs. "That long? Okay. The Team, are they still on call?"

 _["Yeah they are. I have to get back to it" Kira said.]_

"Okay thanks" Sam said and hung up.

He started to pace. Sam wondered what kind of call the team was on and was ticked off that he was stuck here. They were one man short because he was in this damned metal box. What if something happened and he was not there to stop it? What if one of the team was hurt because he was not there to protect them?

Sam felt the tension rising again. The headache that had been building over the last hour was pounding viciously now. He hated to take pain meds but he could not operate if this headache didn't stop.

He wished he had his back pack. He always kept one dose of aspirin in it. Wait. He had used that yesterday after his head got slammed by the door as the subject ran away on their first call of the day. It happened within the first thirty minutes of their shift and his head hurt like hell so he relented and took it.

Sam smiled as a thought occurred to him. He reached into his back pocket. Yes! He hadn't put them in his back pack yet.

He had grabbed two replacement pills this morning before racing out of his apartment. He was running late and made a mad dash to get ready and out the door so he was not late to workout. He was glad he grabbed them even though he left a mess at home.

In his rush he had knocked over his aspirin and sleeping pills. It was a mess he would have to clean up when he got home. There was no way he was going to show up late to work. A small mess in his apartment was better than being late.

However, the General would be rather disappointed that his apartment was not squared away perfectly before he left. Years of being inspected every morning as a kid tended to make you a bit anal in keeping things orderly. A small part of him was bothered that he left the pills scattered on the floor of the bathroom.

But a larger part would have been bothered if he had been late. That was the bigger of the two issues. Ed would have laid into him for being late.

Sam didn't want to give Ed any ammunition against him. Though truthfully, lately Ed had chilled out a bit in yelling at him. Ed had even started asking for his opinion on Sierra positions.

He was still stunned that when Ed found him napping in conference room three Ed had only laughed and said he could use a nap too. Then Ed had sat down like nothing big had happened and asked his opinion on sniper locations for the warrant call.

Popping the aspirin into his mouth Sam dry swallowed them. He continued to pace as he rubbed his temples. Sam tried to get his mind to focus on someplace else.

His mind landed on his teammate. Sam stopped pacing and leaned in the corner of the elevator. He slid down and sat in the corner. A dopey half smile came to his face.

Okay that could be a good distraction. Sam let his mind wander into dangerous territory. There was something about her. She was gorgeous, sexy, smart, funny, strong, alluring and a damned good shot.

His mind conjured up an image of Jules with her hair free of her trademark ponytail. He imagined running his fingers through her hair. He imagined pulling her to him and leaning down to kiss her sensual lips.

Sam sighed. What would it be like to actually kiss her? What would her lips actually feel like? How soft would her hair actually be? Sam's breathing became a little erratic as he thought about how Jules smelled. God she always smelled so good.

He closed his eyes and allowed his mind to undress her completely. Sam felt his body stirring at that thought. In his mind he kissed and caressed her.

His mind conjured up images of his hand roaming all over her. Of slowly laying her down on his bed. Of kissing her passionately. Of her sighing his name and mewling as he worshiped her body with his hands. Of him touching her there and making her arch up to him. And then him …

Sam stopped himself. He blew out a heavy breath that was awful close to sexual panting. Christ. He should not be thinking like that. It was Jules. She was his teammate.

God he needed a cold shower. His body had reacted as if it were real and was so ready to take that next step. He felt a deep down desire to join with her as one.

Sam needed a distraction from those thoughts in order to deflate a certain part of his anatomy. Sam leaned forward and grabbed another file out of the box.

He opened it and started to read. Yeah a hostage situation at the bus terminal would be just the thing to change those thoughts.

* * *

 _ **Two Hours Later – SRU HQ – Dispatcher Desk**_

Team One all traipsed in from the call. It was long and tiring. But Jules had in the end talked the girl into not jumping.

There was a tearful scene as the girl was enfolded into her loving parent's arms. They were accepting and supportive. Bettina found out that she was conceived by her mother when her mother was only sixteen so her mother understood young love. It was a heartwarming end to a very stressful call.

Jules, Ed and Greg stopped at Kira's desk as the others slowly made their way to the briefing room.

Greg asked "Sam never showed up. Did the elevator guy get here yet?"

Kira answered "About fifteen minutes ago. He said he should have it fixed in short order."

Just then the elevator pinged. Greg sighed. Sam would be so happy to be released. He had spent a nearly three hours in the elevator. He hoped Sam did not stress out too much.

When Sam did not immediately exit the elevator he started forward. The maintenance guy stepped out. Greg smiled. Sam must be down in records delivering the boxes.

* * *

 _ **SRU HQ – Elevator**_

The maintenance guy stepped out and looked towards the dispatch desk. "Hey I could use a hand over here. I'm not sure what is wrong but I cannot wake him."

At those words Greg rushed to the elevator followed quickly by Ed and Jules. They all came to an abrupt stop outside the elevator. Sam was on the floor of the elevator with an open case file in his lap.

Greg rushed forward and knelt down. He lightly tapped Sam's face trying to rouse him. He did not respond. Greg turned to Jules "Call EMS."

Ed moved the boxes out and then knelt down next to Greg "What the hell happened?"

Greg shook his head "I'm not sure. I suspected he might be claustrophobic. But I don't think that would cause this."

Jules peeked her head in "EMS will be here soon. What happened?"

Putting the file back into its folder Greg said "Don't know."

Jules turned to Kira "Did Sam call you and say anything about feeling ill or off?"

From her desk Kira answered with concern in her voice "No. Not a word. He called once when you were all out on the call but I told him it would be a bit longer and he sounded just fine."

Wordy, Spike and Lou came out of the briefing room at the commotion and headed for the elevator. Arriving outside the elevator, they saw Sam out cold on the floor of the elevator.

Spike took his phone out and started to take a picture.

Wordy glared at him "Spike."

"What? It's not every day one of us is on the floor of the elevator. It's funny" Spike said.

"OWWW!" Spike yelped. He rubbed where Jules had punched him hard.

Disgust in her voice Jules bit out "It is not funny. The Boss cannot rouse him. He may be seriously ill."

Wordy then recalled yesterday morning "Sam refused to see the EMS after the call yesterday morning. That door hit him pretty hard. I saw him take something from his back pack a little later. I think it was aspirin. Maybe it is a delayed reaction to that hit."

Ed growled "Dammit. I should have made him get checked out. He said he was okay."

Spike looked abashed as Wordy's words sank in. He hadn't thought of that. All he had been thinking was that the so cool and cocky soldier was sleeping on the elevator floor. And that was funny.

If he was really hurt that was not funny. Spike chided himself for being insensitive and realized he still had a long way to go in adjusting his behaviors towards Sam. He would never have pulled his phone out if it had been Lou or any of the others on the floor of the elevator.

EMS showed up just then and the team backed off to allow them to work. After a few minutes, one of the EMTs came out and said "All his vitals are normal. Is there any reason you can think of that he might be out?"

Lou said "He hit his head pretty hard yesterday morning."

Greg added "He looked fine and refused to be seen by EMS."

Ed stated "He was fine this morning in workout and briefing. I didn't see anything that worried me. He looked fine and fit as usual."

The EMT said "To me he just looks to be in a deep sleep. But we are going to transport him to Toronto General and let the doctors figure it out there. It could be something related to that hit on his head you said he got yesterday."

The team watched as Sam was loaded on a gurney and strapped in. He did not stir once. They stood rooted in place each wondering what the heck happened to Sam and how they all missed whatever signs there might have been.

Greg turned to Kira and said "Team One is off hot calls unless Team Four cannot cover it. We will be at the hospital."

Kira nodded "Copy."

The team headed out. Concern growing for Sam they all jogged to the SUVs.

* * *

 _ **One Hour Later – Toronto General Hospital – ER Waiting Room**_

Jules, Ed, Wordy and Lou sat quietly waiting. Spike and Greg were up and pacing now. No one had been out to tell them anything. Greg and Spike stopped when the ER door opened and a doctor stepped out and called for the family of Constable Braddock.

Enmass the group converged on the doctor. He smiled and said in a heavy Indian accent "You must be Sam's team."

Greg answered for them "Yes. I'm Greg Parker, Sam's Sergeant."

Doctor Deepak Kohli grinned again and reported "Sam is just fine. Nothing to worry about. Sam will be out shortly but he should take the rest of the day off based on your line of work."

There was a collective sigh of relief coupled with confused looks.

Greg asked "If there is nothing to worry about why was he out cold and unresponsive? And why would he need the rest of the day off?"

Dr. Kohli stated in a neutral tone "Ah, yes. Well. You see there appears to be a small mix up. I am completely confident it was unintentional. It seems that Sam keeps a single dose of aspirin in his work pack. He used it yesterday and got a replacement dose this morning."

"He was running late this morning and did not want to incur the wrath of someone called Ed. He knocked over his aspirin and his sleeping aid. They got mixed up. Unfortunately when he was in the elevator, well maybe actually fortunately he was there and not on a call. He was experiencing a tension headache. He took his aspirin. But from everything we can determine it must have been the sleeping aid pills instead of aspirin."

"He is rather embarrassed at mixing them up. The sleeping aid should be fully out of his system in the next five hours. But it will leave him too groggy to be at work" Dr. Kohli explained.

The team just stared at the doctor and then at each other.

Spike laughed with relief that Sam was okay "Damn I should have taken the pictures."

At that moment Sam exited the ER area and looked at the team. He turned pink as he saw them laughing. Crap. This was so very embarrassing.

Ed was sure to have a field day reaming him for mixing up meds. It was a stupid thing to do. Sam was throwing out the sleeping aids when he got home. He vowed never to take meds at work again. Sam would rather put up with the pain than be embarrassed like this again.

Everyone turned and looked at him. Sam saw the grins on their faces and mirth displayed in their eyes. Crap, they were gonna tease him about this one forever. He would never live it down.

Ed laughed and said jovially "Braddock that is the third time you have been found sleeping at SRU. I'm starting an official unacceptable nap locations list for you. Conference room three, SRU roof and now SRU elevator will be on it."

Jules could see how utterly embarrassed Sam was. He needed rest and he needed away from the team's joking right now. So she stepped forward and linked her arm in his.

As she led Sam away Jules said loudly over her shoulder to the guys "I'm taking Sam home and getting him into bed."

Laughter increased from the guys and she realized now how that must have sounded.

She cringed a little at first but then stopped and glared at the guys "Any one keeps laughing I'll be happy to shut you up."

The guys stopped laughing. Spike rubbed his arm where she had slugged him earlier. It still ached a bit.

Sam's mouth was agape at Jules' words about getting him into bed. His mind immediately jumped to his earlier fantasy. Sam blushed furiously at that image.

As Jules led him out Sam thought he would be a happy man if only that fantasy could come true.


	7. SRU Briefing Room

**SRU Briefing Room**

* * *

 _ **SRU HQ – Gym**_

"Samo, late night?" Ed asked as he watched Sam half-heartedly punch the heavy bag.

"What?" Sam asked knowing Ed said his name but he did not catch the rest of it.

Ed chuckled "Yeah late night. You know you shouldn't party so hard on school nights."

Sam gave a self-depreciating grin and answered "Yeah probably not."

Spike looked at Lou and said "Sam must have a new girl. He keeps blowing us off. Sam you are coming to movie night tonight right?"

Sam shrugged.

Lou slowed the treadmill down and laughed "I'd blow you off if I had the hot girls Sam gets."

Spike clasped his hands to his heart with a fake grunt of pain as he said "You wound me Lou."

The team minus Jules all chuckled and then normal fun banter continued as they completed their workout and then headed for the showers.

* * *

 _ **SRU HQ – Locker Room**_

They were almost all dressed when Spike sat down next to Sam "Okay do tell. Who is she? She's gotta be special for you to be dragging in here for the last week."

Sam just looked at his top shelf as he put his deodorant back. He thought special, yeah Jules is special. More special than I ever dreamed. But to Spike he just shrugged and said "Had a good date, she's nice."

"Nice? Good date? Is that all you're gonna say?" Spike pestered.

Sam turned to Spike and grinned "Yep."

Lou closed his locker and chuckled "Spike you know that no matter how much you badger Sam for details he won't tell you nothing."

Wordy smiled as he said "Spike, time for you to get a date of your own and stop trying to live vicariously through Samtastic's gaggle of ladies."

Spike hrmped "I date. I just like to know if Sam is dating the right kind of lady."

Ed laughed out loud "Well if they are keeping Sam up so late that he drags his sorry ass in here half prepared I'd say he is dating the right type of ladies. Unless he is looking to settle down. Which I highly doubt."

Sam closed his locker and leaned back on it "I'm good to go Ed. No worries."

"Oh I'm not worried" Ed responded.

Wordy quipped "No he is jealous. Us old married men with kids don't get to go party til all hours."

Ed shook his head "No not jealous either. I'm not worried because Sam knows, you all know, the pains you will experience if you are not prepared. Just sayin."

Greg chuckled at the banter. It was good to see the team so gelled. "Alright boys, time to actually get to work. Briefing room in five."

* * *

 _ **SRU HQ – Briefing Room**_

Greg looked at his team minus Jules and grinned. Today was all boys day. He wondered how ribald the banter and jokes would get without Jules' presence.

Jules was in a mandatory all day refresh training class on fundamental principles, procedures and techniques of law. Greg knew she would be bored to tears today. They all were when they had to do that class. Today just happened to be Jules' turn.

He started the briefing "No bread and butter today. We will spend an hour or so doing inventory and then it will be patrol day. Spike and Lou, Wordy and Sam and Ed and I will pair up. Now off you go to do inventory."

The team stood and reluctantly headed for the cage. None of them liked doing inventory. Counting ammo was so monotonous it could put anyone to sleep. But it was better than the monthly cleaning.

Spike quipped as they left the room "You know I'd rather be in the class with Jules."

Lou shook his head "Nah, I'd rather count ammo than sit through another fundamentals class. I about nodded off in the class last month."

Wordy snickered and said "We might possibly have to add that class to Sam unacceptable nap locations list."

Sam rolled his eyes "Good thing I'm not due for the refresher course for six months. I'll be sure to get a good night's rest and load up on coffee so Ed can't add it."

Ed grinned and slapped Sam on the back "After your late night last night you better not let me catch you nodding off counting the ammo."

"Copy that" Sam said with humor.

* * *

 _ **SRU HQ – Cage**_

Sam yawned. He did have a late night last night. He'd probably gotten only three hours sleep. Jules' renovation project took them a lot longer to finish than expected.

But that was his fault. He kept distracting her. Oh what pleasurable distractions they were though. He'd take three hours sleep any day to have the kind of distractions they had last night.

Jules was lucky though. She got to sleep in until eight because the class did not start until nine am. He on the other hand was up at four thirty this morning.

Ed looked at Sam and grinned "So what number are you on?"

Sam looked down at the ammo "Crap. I lost count."

Spike snickered "That's the third time. Whoever you went out with last night must really have her hooks in you."

Wordy smiled but remained quiet. Whoever it was Sam was dating recently must be special. It had gone unnoticed by most of the team but he could see Sam was a bit distracted. Although Sam's distracted was equal to others totally on point. So he didn't say anything to Ed.

He hoped that Sam would find someone. Ever since Christmas, when Sam called for help, he wished Sam would find someone special. Someone that would be there for him so he was not so alone in this world.

Wordy looked down at his ammo. Crap he lost count again too. God there was nothing more boring than counting ammo.

"Team On hot call" Kira called over the speakers as the claxon alarm rang.

Five relieved men counting ammo dropped the bullets back into the containers and raced to gear up. Freedom from the dreaded chore.

* * *

 _ **Eleven Hours Later – SRU HQ – Briefing Room**_

Six totally exhausted men made their way to the briefing room. Today had been non-stop. Each of them had been pushed to their limits physically today. But today was a good day. Everyone went home safe.

They had one call, their first, that took them four hours. It was a reported kidnapping that turned out to be a miscommunication between two parents that could not even stand to be in the same room. Their verbal sniping at each other had tested all the team's resolve not to throw their hands up or knock two heads together. The parents behaved worse than children.

In the end they found the children with the nanny at Wacky Willy's Wildness. The parents both had forgotten that they had agreed to allow the nanny to take them there to celebrate young Michael's straight A report card.

Their second call was less frustrating but more physically demanding, especially for Sam. He had chased a subject down running two miles. The chase ended when Sam and the subject went over an embankment and rolled down a steep ravine. The subject broke his leg and Sam had to haul him up with the aid of rappelling ropes.

The third call was on the outskirts of town in a rural area and had Spike, Lou and Sam all running for their lives. The disgruntled ranch hand had taken his boss at gun point. But when SRU arrived he ran toward the corrals. Sam, Spike and Lou all went after him.

But the subject opened the corral gate that housed a bull and then shot the bull in a fleshy part to anger it. The bull charged after the three guys. Ed hated to do it but he had to take lethal action on the bull when it almost gored Spike. It would have gored him if Sam had not flown at Spike and knocked him out of the way. Because a bullet doesn't stop a raging 2,400 pound bull instantly. It is more like a freight train that continues forward when the engine is blown.

There were lots of bull jokes on the way to the next call. Their last call had them all searching a ten story building for a supposed bomb. Spike had been so tired by the time that hot call came in he wasn't even excited. Sam and Wordy had started at the top and worked down clearing the building while Ed, Spike and Lou worked their way up and Greg coordinated the scene.

In the end it was determined it was a hoax. The team had loaded into the SUV and headed back to the barn to debrief.

Greg looked around at the team. Today had run them all ragged.

Wordy was seated in his chair with his head on the table on his arms. Spike and Lou were leaned as far back in the chairs as they could go without tipping over. Their faces were mirror images of each other, utter exhaustion. Ed was even slouching as he sat on the file case near the window. Sam stood in the back of the room with his arms crossed and his head down as he leaned on the wall.

Greg wondered at first why Sam was standing. Then he realized it was probably the same reason he himself was standing. If he sat down he'd probably fall asleep. Greg was so ready to go home and just fall into bed. He had no energy to even think about making dinner.

Looking at his team, his family Greg made a decision "Alright guys. Today was exhausting. Go home. We will debrief in the morning."

Wordy lifted his head slowly "Thanks Boss."

Ed slid off the file case and said "Wordy I'll give you a ride home. You don't look awake enough to drive safely."

It was almost too much effort but Wordy grinned "Thanks."

Lou leaned forward and used the table to push himself up "Come on Spike."

Spike was still leaning back "Can't get up."

Lou reached out a hand "Com'on buddy."

As Spike rose he said "So much for movie night. I'm gonna crash as soon as I get into my room."

Greg looked at Sam who had not moved and said "Hey Sam, how bout a ride home tonight. Riding your bike doesn't sound like such a good idea."

Four of the six were heading out as Greg spoke to Sam. Ed held back to hear Sam's response. When there was none he looked at Greg.

Greg started to the back of the room "Sam. Did you hear me?"

Ed started towards Sam when Sam still did not respond. Wordy, Spike and Lou all stopped at the doorway and looked back. Something was amiss. Why was Sam not responding?

Reaching Sam, Greg said "Sam are you okay?"

Still no response.

Ed arrived and said "Samo?"

Greg looked at Ed "Do you think he is asleep?"

Ed shook his head "No way, he's standing up."

Then forgetting that he should not startle Sam, Ed placed a hand on Sam's shoulder and shook him as he said "Sam."

In less than a second Ed was flat on his back and Sam was straddling him with his fists ready to strike. Sam pulled the punch at the last second, barely not hitting Ed.

Sam stared down at Ed. "Shit. Shit. Shit" Sam said as he quickly got off Ed, stood and backed up.

His face turned bright red as he looked at Sarge, Ed and then at Wordy, Spike and Lou as they moved forward. Shit he almost punched his Team Leader.

Ed picked himself off the ground and his expression was incredulous "Sam what was that about?" he asked with a little heat.

Greg said "Cool down Ed. Sam please explain."

Embarrassment kicking in big time Sam bit the bullet and stated the truth "I'm sorry Ed. It wasn't meant for you. It's just when I'm startled awake I go into attack mode."

Ed looked at Sam disbelieving "You were asleep?"

Sam nodded "Yeah sorry. Today was long and exhausting. Didn't mean to fall asleep. Sorry."

Spike laughed "You were actually asleep standing up?"

Lou said at nearly the same time "How the hell do you sleep standing up?"

Sam looked at both of them and answered "Yes and training. In the field you have to learn to sleep anywhere, anytime."

Wordy chuckled "Well don't that beat all."

Ed laughed wondering just how the hell someone trained to sleep standing up. He slung his arm around Sam's shoulders "You know Samo, the Briefing Room is getting added to the unacceptable napping locations list."

Sam grinned.

Greg grinned "Sam I'm giving you a ride home. I really don't want to know if you can sleep riding a bike."

The six exhausted men headed out to the locker room.

Five were surprised to find out their rookie could sleep standing up.

One was surprised to find out that his TL had a real sense of humor and did not put him on report for almost striking him.

Five were thinking how much fun Jules would have teasing Sam tomorrow morning.

One was thinking how much fun Jules would have teasing him tonight and that he was making it an early night without distractions. Well … maybe a little distraction.

.

* * *

 _ **AN:** Hope you liked the lighthearted story after AI-W. Also of note is that I have finally updated the BoL Reference doc (chapter 1) with a complete chronological listing of all stories. This includes all the Alphabet Injury, Unacceptable Nap Location, Team One Guardian Angels and Because of You stories slotted into the appropriate place in the timeline. _

**_Reviews are always appreciated. Thank You to all those that take a moment to let me know what they think of the story._**


	8. Backseat of SRU SUV

**Backseat of SRU SUV  
**

* * *

 _ **Timeline:**_ _After Alphabet Injuries - G and just before Belonging._

* * *

 _ **Backseat of SRU SUV**_

Sam climbed into the passenger backseat of the SRU SUV. He was not looking forward to the ride back to the barn. Ed was pissed at him. Again!

He had been back to work for a week after getting his ass impaled by the glass shelf when they responded to the shooting at Gleason Mall. Ed had insisted he go easy and had assigned him to the lower levels to clear the building. It had ticked Sam off.

Sam was back and cleared for full duty. But Ed was coddling him and it was unwanted and unneeded. Ed's behavior was putting a greater demand on the rest of the team. That was not acceptable to Sam. He needed to carry his weight. He had so much to atone for. He needed to know he was making a difference and that the team needed him right now.

He should have been sent to the top floor. He had made Ed aware of that and Ed had dressed him down for questioning him. It had been a quick and sharp 'follow my lead or you are off the team' remark from Ed that pissed him off the most. It actually hurt too.

The call ended peacefully but then Ed sharply ordered him to the SUV punctuated with a glare too. Sam schooled his features so he did not show his anger or hurt. It would do no good to show any emotion right now. It would just piss Ed off more and he could not be that vulnerable right now either.

Sam turned his head and caught his reflection in the mirror. He closed his eyes refusing to look at himself. If he didn't look he did not need to acknowledge he was holding on by the slimmest thread. He did not need to see the haunted face that stared back at him.

He had been okay right up until five days ago. That is when realization hit him and the pearl handled colt began beckoning him to pick it up again. He had been making progress there. But then he recalled what was coming up and what today was. What today should have been.

Despite his unsettled thoughts Sam yawned.

* * *

 _ **Inside the Command Truck**_

Jules, Spike and Lou all turned off their headsets. None looked happy in the least.

Spike scowled and asked "Why did Ed talk to Sam that way?"

Jules shrugged "Don't really know. But Sam did question his orders."

Lou sighed "I'm more interested in why Ed is treating Sam different. It is like he doesn't think he is capable."

"I know, right. Sam passed the requal. Ed should quit riding him" Spike said with frustration.

"Maybe Ed doesn't think Sam has his head in the game. Perhaps a few too many late nights" Jules suggested.

Lou grinned "Sam is sure a ladies man, even with those dark circles under his eyes. Got the vampire thing going on that draws even more ladies too him."

Spike chuckled "Samtastic sure draws more than his fair share of ladies." His chuckling stopped as he continued, "But that doesn't give Ed the right to lay into him like that."

Lou nodded "He doesn't lay into any of us like that. I don't see that Sam has given him any cause to lay into him. Sam has been on point all week. Something else must be going on. Something we are not privy too."

Jules sat down and considered what she had just suggested against Lou's comments. Something niggled in the back of her brain. She partnered with Sam over the last few months and he never talked about dates. He did however pester her to get a beer and a burrito.

She had finally broken down and accepted. They had several nice talks in the back of her jeep. But they had no talks since he was released from the hospital. On the surface he acted fine but then again those dark circles had made a reappearance.

Jules conceded that she was just happy to have him back on the team and had overlooked how tired he looked lately. Perhaps she should suggest they get a beer and burrito tonight. Maybe Sam was having trouble with those gumball nightmares again. If that was the case perhaps she could help him.

Lou said "We better wrap things up."

Spike and Jules nodded and began to prepare to return to the barn. Each were in their own thoughts regarding Ed and Sam.

* * *

 _ **Outside Building Away From SUV**_

Greg stopped Ed before he headed for the SUVs and Command Truck. He flicked off his headset. Greg waited for Ed to turn off his before he asked "Why did you lay into Sam so hard Ed?"

Ed pinched the bridge of his nose and turned away from the SUV as he ground out "He's not ready to be back."

In his conciliatory voice Greg stated "He passed the requals just fine."

"I don't give a damn about that. You have eyes. He is not ready to be back. Sam looks like he is one of the walking dead" Ed retorted.

Greg paused and nodded "Yes he does look tired. But he has not failed to do his job. Can you really point to anything he has done that was not up to standards?"

Ed pointed at the SUV as he ground out "He does not have any self-preservation. If we let him, he will work himself to an early grave. Sam looks more and more like a damned raccoon as the week has gone on."

"So you think yelling at him and threatening to kick him off the team is going to resolve that?" Greg asked quietly.

Dropping his arm Ed let the heat out of his voice as it ebbed out of his body "He pushes my buttons Greg. Sam is so different from the rest of the team. If it had been any other member of the team that crashed into that china shop we would still be on medical leave."

Greg only looked at Ed "Not quite any of the others. You would have been back just as soon. Perhaps it is hard to look at Sam and see your actions mirrored in his."

Ed looked at Greg. He was not willing to concede that point. So he stated "He needs more rest."

"That may be so but you need to handle this better. Sam was beginning to shows signs of starting to accept that we want him on the team. Don't blow it now Ed" Greg cautioned.

Wordy finished up putting his tools away and saw Sam sitting in the backseat of the SUV. He knew Sam was pissed at Ed. Wordy was pissed at Ed too. He was tearing down all the hard work the team had done to make Sam feel welcome.

He strode over to where Ed and Greg were standing and turned off his headset as he went. Wordy let a little heat enter his voice "Ed you need to cool it with Sam."

"Wordy don't start. Not now" Ed bit back in reaction to the heat.

"If not now, when? What you said to Sam was unjustified" Wordy replied hotly.

Greg put a hand up "Wordy."

Wordy rounded on Greg "Ed is backsliding. We have all worked too damned hard to have a few callous words ruin it."

Ed turned on Wordy "I'm trying to look out for him. Open your eyes. Sam is worn out. He needs to take it easy. Hell he looks almost worse than he did when we were blind and did not want him on this team."

Wordy looked back at the SUV. He had to admit that the dark circles under Sam's eyes were in full force. They had seen him like that a lot in his first few months. It didn't seem to impede his performance.

But Ed had a point. Those dark circles had been improving until Sam got hurt at Gleason Mall. Was he being blind to Sam's true well-being? Yeah he was.

Wordy blew out a breath and acknowledged as he turned back to Ed "You are right. But you need to find a better way to deal with Sam. You cannot go off like that. It is counter-productive with him."

Ed dropped his heat too "What do you suggest? Because I'm all out of ideas."

Wordy asked "Have you tried talking to Sam to see what the problem might be?"

Ed snorted "Sam talk to me? Yeah right. That will be the day."

Greg's brow's shot up "So you haven't even extended an offer to talk to him?"

Ed pinched the bridge of his nose again. No he hadn't. He had assumed based on their history that Sam would not open up to him. He had not even considered talking to him. Shit, he was failing big time when it came to their rookie.

Wordy said "You want me to try talking to him?"

Shaking his head Ed said "This is my screw up. I'll fix it. Let me and Sam head back to the barn alone. I'll try to talk to him."

Greg lightly redirected "Try to talk with him. Listen Ed. Perhaps put it out there that you will listen and then wait for him to accept that you will not yell and he might open up."

Ed nodded and headed for the SUV. Never had he encountered another officer that affected him like Sam. Someone that could rile him faster than a speeding bullet. Ed knew he needed to reel in his reactions but it was damned hard to change. They were based in concern for the team, the whole team, which included Sam.

Opening the driver's side door, Ed slid into the seat and did not look back. He started the SUV and getting a hold of his emotions Ed stated calmly "Sam I'm sorry I yelled and threatened your position on this team. You are looking worn out to me and that has me concerned. If something is going on and you need someone to talk to I'm willing to listen."

Ed then put the SUV in gear and started to the barn. Greg had said to say his peace and offer then remain quiet. So he did. He was not too surprised when Sam did not respond.

Half way to the barn Sam still hadn't responded so Ed ventured to look in the rear-view mirror. Sam's head was turned away from him and looking out the passenger window. Well it was clear Sam did not want to talk to him about it.

* * *

 _ **SRU HQ – Parking Garage**_

Ed put the SUV in park and turned it off. He waited a moment then said "Sam we need to clear the air. I understand you are pissed at me, rightfully so. But we need to talk it out."

When Sam made no answer and did not get out of the SUV Ed turned around. Sam had not moved a muscle. He was still staring out the passenger window. It was odd.

Ed's gut churned as he quickly got out and rounded the truck. Something was not right.

When he got to the other side he saw Sam's face. His eyes were closed. A smile graced Ed's face as he headed back to the rear of the SUV. The others were just arriving.

Ed went to Greg and said "I need someone to go get Sam's keys from his locker."

Greg questioned "Why" as the rest of the team gathered around.

His grin firmly in place Ed stated "I was right, Sam is worn out."

Wordy asked "So he talked with you?"

"Nope" Ed responded.

"Then how do you know he is worn out?" Wordy asked.

Humor edging into his voice Ed informed them "Because Sam is sound asleep in the SUV. I think he was asleep even before we left the scene. I'm gonna drive him home."

Greg grinned, "Okay Eddie. We only have thirty minutes left of shift so I'll get Kira to assign any hot calls to other teams. I suggest once you get him home you see if he will talk. You two still need to clear the air."

Ed nodded.

Lou said "I'll be right back with his keys."

Spike grinned and headed for the SUV. He was not letting this opportunity pass him up. He pulled out his phone and quickly snapped a picture before anyone could tell him not too. As he turned around he realized no one saw. Good.

This was gonna be fun. Spike couldn't wait to get home and put it together. He quelled the urge to snicker out loud. It wasn't a prank per se but as far as pranking Sam went it might be the best he could do.

Jules looked at Spike and asked "What are you up too?"

Spike gave her innocent eyes "Me? What makes you think I'm up to something?"

Wordy chuckled "Um, probably because whenever you have that oh so innocent look your devilish mind is whirring around at top speed."

Spike started toward the building "See you inside for debrief. We all need to talk about my awesome bomb defusing skills."

Jules trotted after him "Oh do we now? A little of Sam's cockiness seems to be rubbing off on you now."

"What you call cockiness I call awesome skills" Spike retorted.

Wordy caught up with them and the three bantered and teased back and forth. They knew that the Sarge and Ed would sort out whatever was up with Sam. They were happy to see that Ed would be clearing the air with Sam too.

Lou returned with Sam's keys and his go bag packed with the clothes he wore into work this morning. After handing them over to Ed, he and the Sarge headed in for debrief.

* * *

 _ **Sam's Apartment – Great Room**_

Ed had woken Sam up from the backseat of the SUV. As expected Sam turned a shade of pink with embarrassment. Ed quelled it by saying that they needed to talk. Sam had reluctantly invited him up to his apartment.

Looking around at the sparsely furnished apartment Ed realized that Sam had actually purchased a couch, desk, table and unpacked the boxes that were here when Greg and he had found him when Sam had not shown up for work. That had been tough to see Sam in that condition.

It was another one of his failures with regard to Sam. Sam had nearly died of bronchitis because none of them had bothered to check on him for three days. Finding him here with no heat or electricity and determining he had been incapacitated for three days ate away at Ed.

Perhaps it was all his failures that made him react harsher with Sam. Perhaps it was that he still could not read Sam. Sometime Ed wondered if the man ever showed emotion. Sure drugs could make him loopy and damned funny. But that was in an altered state. He had seen Sam smile a few times, mostly around Jules and Wordy. Spike was making inroads too. Hell so were Greg and Lou.

Only he seemed to be having difficulty connecting with Sam. That needed to change. Ed was bound and determined to give it his best effort tonight. Ed sat on the couch waiting for Sam to come back into the room. He sent him to change seeing that they were off shift. He wanted Sam comfortable for the conversation.

* * *

 _ **Sam's Apartment – Sam's Bedroom**_

Sam lingered in his room a bit longer than he needed to in order to change. Hell, more than a bit. He was fully changed five minutes ago. But now he was trying to figure out how he would explain falling asleep, on duty, in the backseat of the SUV, on scene no less. He needed some explanation that would not get him kicked off the team.

His eyes glanced at the pearl handled colt on his bedside table. He pushed the pain away as best he could. Today it just would not go down. It was strong and kept eating at him today. It make him more weary trying to keep it at bay until he could be alone with his pain.

Standing Sam decided to get it over with. He was many things, killer, screw up, failure, but he was not a coward. If he was off the team then so be it. The pearl handled colt would go with him on his visit to Matt tonight. Perhaps tonight he would finally end the pain.

* * *

 _ **Sam's Apartment – Great Room**_

Sam exited his room to find Ed seated on the couch. He asked in a statement "I have water or beer."

"Water seeing that I'm still in uniform. But you go ahead and have a beer if you want" Ed answered.

Sam grabbed a water and a beer. He handed the water bottle to Ed then sat down on his black swivel chair. He waited for Ed to start as he opened his beer and took a swig. He set it on the table not really wanting it after all.

Ed watched Sam and could see now that something was clearly not right. His instincts that had been screaming at him all week were right. But he needed to take it slow and try not to screw up again.

He took a drink then decided that Sam had probably not heard him in the SUV so he repeated "Sam I'm sorry I yelled and threatened your position on this team. You are looking worn out to me and that has me concerned. If something is going on and you need someone to talk to I'm willing to listen."

Sam was stunned by that. He was expecting a swift and loud set down. He was not off the team. Ed didn't even mention the sleeping. He responded "Sorry about falling asleep."

Ed nodded slowly as he played with the water bottle. How to respond to that? Ed opted for "It proves to me that you are worn out. That is unlike you Sam."

Sam raked his fingers through his hair. He was uncomfortable talking like this with Ed. It was different. He was used to Ed yelling. But Ed was behaving like Blaze right now. That thought shot a pain through his heart. He had lost two fathers; one by not protecting his sister and one because he killed his best friend.

Losing everyone is what he did. He felt the prickle of hot tears at the back of his eyes and blinked rapidly to stop them. He would not cry. Not in front of Ed, it would be one more embarrassment. He clamped down hard on his mask and tried to remain impassive.

Ed was waiting for him to reply. Also so like Blaze. This was not the Ed he knew. Sam finally answered "I'm not sleeping well?"

Calmly Ed replied "Want to talk about why?"

Sam shook his head. "No. I will make sure I'm rested tomorrow. You will have no worries I will not let the team down."

Internally Ed raged 'That is not what I meant, you are not letting the team down, dammit Sam I'm worried about you'. Externally he responded "Are you worried you will let the team down?"

Ed was surprised at that question. It was so Greg-eques. Not his typical type of question. But he watched the play of emotions cross Sam's face fleetingly. They were so fast if he had blinked he would have missed them. He was on to something and Sam seemed just as stunned by the question as he was.

Sam stood abruptly and walked to the window. He wished they opened and he could feel the breeze on his face. Why did Ed ask him that? How did he answer that?

As he stared outside Sam's thoughts turned to Matt. God he missed him, especially today. He had let down their unit the day he killed Matt. Maybe he was worried about letting down the team.

His biggest fear was that one of them was killed or injured and it was his fault. Something he did or did not do, something he did not see or hear in time. That he was too fast or too slow. It preyed on his mind a lot.

Sam's eyes glanced at the desk. It contained only one picture; the one of him and Matt. Pain rippled through him and he went to the desk and picked up the picture.

His extreme fatigue from five nights of less than three hours sleep caught up with him. He sunk down into the desk chair forgetting Ed was even in the room with him. He looked at Matt and said "I'm sorry. I let you down. You counted on me. You should be here now. We should be celebrating your 30th birthday tonight."

Ed's face fell as he realized that Sam was talking to Matt. The first three sentences he thought Sam was talking to him and he was about to counter that he did not let him down. The last sentence clicked everything into place. It was Sam's best friend's birthday, the one that he killed in friendly fire.

It was no wonder that Sam was not sleeping. Guilt like that weighed so heavily. He watched Sam for sometime as Sam stared down at the picture. It became clear to Ed that Sam did not realize he was here. Sam was lost in a daze of sorts. It could be the lack of sleep. Sam had been hard to wake in the SUV so he must be bordering on exhaustion based on that and the way Sam looked.

Ed cleared his throat to let Sam know he was still there.

Sam's head whipped to the couch. Ed? What was Ed doing on his couch? Then his tired mind caught up. Damn.

Quietly Ed asked "Were you planning on visiting Matt's grave tonight?"

Sam only nodded.

"Well you are in no shape to drive. I'll take you and then drive you home. Then I want you to get some real sleep so I want you to take a sleeping aid. You come into work when you wake up" Ed stated.

All Sam could do was stare for a moment. Then he blurted out "I don't have any sleeping aids anymore. I threw them out after the elevator mishap."

Ed stood up "Then we will make a stop and pick some up. I will keep ahold of them for you so there is no repeat."

Sam stood and asked "Why are you doing this Ed?"

"Sam you are a member of this team. We look out for each other. I'm not doing anything anyone of them, including you, would not do for anyone of us" Ed stated.

Nodding Sam said "Need to make one other stop too if you don't mind."

Ed grinned, "Let's go."

* * *

 _ **Green Acres Cemetery – Respectful Distance from Matt's Grave**_

Ed stood off at a distance giving Sam privacy. He had been a little surprised when Sam bought a small individual sized bottle of Jack Daniels. He assured him he was not drinking it so it would not interact with the sleeping aid. Sam said it was for Matt's thirtieth birthday. He watched as Sam uncapped it and made some comment he could not hear from this distance. Then he saw Sam pour the JD onto Matt's grave.

As he watched Ed thought about his own brother Roy. They were estranged. Roy was a bit of a screw up and he was tired of putting up with his antics. He had been shouldering family responsibility for some time, ever since his father died and Roy was still a teen. He wished Roy would grow up.

Ed let his gaze move away from Sam as he wondered where thoughts of Roy came from. He chalked it up to watching Sam. Sam had shared on the way over that Matt was the older brother he wished he had. That he and Matt were really more than just friends, they were brothers in every way except blood.

His head turned back to Sam when he heard a sob. Ed stared as he watched Sam's shoulders shake. He was torn. Should he go to Sam or leave him be to cry in private. Then the thought of Sam crying slapped him in the face. Sam had feelings, deep, deep feelings he kept hidden from the team.

Sam was not a robot soldier that had no feeling. The sounds reaching his ears tore at him. He had been so wrong about Sam, so very wrong. Ed decided to give Sam his privacy. Ed did not like to cry in front of others. He didn't think Sam would appreciate him going to him right now. Sam's time with Matt should be private. Ed decided he was here to ensure that Sam got home safely, not to intrude on his expression of grief.

Ed walked a little further away to give Sam more privacy but the sounds followed him. Greg might be right. Greg had shared his fear when they realized how badly they treated Sam that Sam quitting was not how he thought they would lose Sam. Greg sensed things the rest of them did not. Greg sensed a darkness around Sam with a tenuous hold. Greg said that Sam needed them much more than they needed Sam. At least right now.

He thought that might actually be true now. It shed some possible light on why Sam was taking so many unacceptable risks. Did Sam really think he should die for accidentally killing his brother?

Ed spent some time examining that. How would he feel if he accidentally killed Roy? Would he be able to live with the grief? Ed was not sure. Every lethal shot he took weighed heavy on him. If that lethal was his own brother. God the pain that would cause would be unbearable.

* * *

 _ **Green Acres Cemetery – Matt's Grave**_

After toasting Matt and pouring the JD on Matt's grave, Sam could not hold back the tears. They overwhelmed him even though he knew Ed could hear him. What was one more embarrassment though briefly passed through Sam's head between sobs.

Sam got to the point of exhaustion and he laid on Matt's grave and let it all pour out. He cried out his fear, pain and longing for his brother. He was none too sure he would make it through tonight. The call of the colt was strong tonight. He wasn't able to bring it with him because of Ed. It would just have to be in his apartment then.

The guilt was just too heavy. And an insidious thought took root in his exhausted illogical mind. If he could kill Matt, then he could someday kill one of the team. They were not safe with him on the team. He was more danger to them than protector.

Exhaustion took hold of him and Sam cried himself to sleep on Matt's grave.

* * *

 _ **Green Acres Cemetery**_

Ed waited another thirty minutes and it was starting to get dark. Sam had quit sobbing fifteen minutes ago. Ed gave him time to recompose himself. But that was fifteen minutes ago. He looked back at the grave for the tenth time. Sam had not moved in all that time.

Shaking his head, Ed started for Matt's grave. Something told him he needed to go get Sam. When he arrived he sighed, Sam was out again.

Ed crouched down and called out "Sam time to go."

Groggily Sam opened his salt crusted eyes. Okay today was getting to the point of total humiliation. Not only did he fall asleep in the backseat of the SUV, go into a haze in his apartment and forget Ed was there and sob like a baby within hearing distance of Ed. Now he had fallen asleep at Matt's grave while Ed was waiting for him.

Sam sat up and said "Sorry Ed. I know you want to get to your family. Sorry for taking you away from Clark and Sophie tonight."

Ed reached out a hand to Sam "Nothing to apologize for Sam. Team One is family too."

Standing up Sam wasn't sure he heard what he just heard from Ed. Was Ed saying he was family too? His emotions were too raw and he was too sleep deprived to delve into that right now though. "I'm ready to go."

Ed nodded and they headed out. Ed contemplated slinging his arm over Sam's shoulders but he wasn't sure how Sam would react to that. He did not want to do anything that would break this tenuous truce between them. Ed thought that it might be the beginning of a connection but it was so fragile right now any wrong move could break it.

* * *

 _ **Sam's Apartment – Sam's Bedroom**_

Ed sat Sam on the bed. Sam had been so exhausted that he needed help climbing the stairs. The building's elevator was on the fritz again. Ed wondered briefly how Sam put up with a building that had constant problems like that.

He said "Stay right here. I'm gonna get you some water so you can take the sleeping aid."

Ed headed out and was back in less than a minute. He shook out the prescribed amount of the sleeping aid and handed to Sam.

Sam hesitated taking it and said "I'm not sure when I'll wake up. Patch said it might knock me out for as much as twelve hours."

Ed handed Sam the water and said "Like I said, come in when you wake up. If anyone asks, I'll just say you took time off for personal business. You don't have to tell anyone why. I won't even tell Greg if you don't want me too."

Downing the pills first Sam responded "You can tell Sarge, but …"

"But the others do not need to know. Not until you want to share with them" Ed finished for Sam.

Sam's head turned to the nightstand.

Ed's gaze followed Sam's and what he saw made his blood run icily in his veins. He found words that did not reflect the feeling he felt "So this is the infamous pearl handled colt you told Jules about."

He knew he could not leave this in reach of Sam tonight. His gut was screaming at him to take the gun. But if he did that Sam would think he had no trust in him.

Sam nodded. Then he said "Yeah I should really put it away."

Ed grabbed onto that "You have a locking gun case for it?"

Sam shrugged "No. I keep meaning to get one."

Ed grinned "I have an extra one. I'm not sure if this will fit in it. Why don't I take it with me tonight and see if it fits. I'll bring it to work with me tomorrow if it does."

"I don't want you to go to any trouble. I can get one on my next day off" Sam replied.

Picking up the gun Ed checked to see if the safety was on and was happy to find it was. He replied "No trouble. It is just sitting unused in my garage. Might as well put it to use. Save you a trip to the store."

Taking a deep breath Sam nodded "Yeah I guess so. Thanks Ed." Then he looked up at Ed with heavy lidded eyes and tiredly said "For everything."

Ed nodded "Get some rest Sam. I'll see you tomorrow, whenever you get in. I'll lock up when I leave."

Sam laid on his head on his pillow and kicked off his shoes not bothering to change. He was asleep in moments. Before Ed even left the room.

Stopping in the doorway Ed sighed and looked at the rookie. Sam was not the man he thought he was. He was much more complicated. Sam had feelings, deep ones, troubled ones, ones that would try a man's soul.

Ed looked at the gun in his hand and sighed again. He might have possibly saved Sam from committing suicide tonight. That was one thought he wanted to keep to himself. But he knew he had to share his suspicions with Greg. He knew it would not go beyond Greg but he had to know. The team's safety was involved.

He switched off the light and said "Hope you have pleasant dreams tonight Sam."

* * *

 _ **Next Morning – SRU HQ – Locker Room – 5:00 am**_

Ed was nearly finished changing for workout when Greg came in and looked around. He saw everyone except Sam. He had not had an opportunity to talk to Ed yet on how things went last night He said "You seen Sam?"

"Sam's got some personal business this morning. He wasn't sure when he would be finished. I told him it was fine and to show up when he was done" Ed stated loud enough for everyone to hear.

Greg asked "How did it go?"

Ed arched a brow and gave Greg a meaningful look but only said "We talked. We're good."

Greg understood more in Ed's few words than what they conveyed. He also understood that Ed would want to talk to him in private. Ed did not want to share any confidences with the entire team. Greg played along as he clapped Ed on the shoulder "Good. Glad to hear that."

Spike pulled out last nights' creation and taped it to Sam's locker. He stood back and grinned.

Lou looked at it and laughed. That drew Wordy's, Ed's and Greg's attention to Sam's locker. All three laughed then everyone headed out to the gym.

* * *

 _ **SRU HQ – Dispatcher Desk – 9:00 am**_

Sam entered the building feeling rested. The sleeping aid knocked him out completely. He didn't wake to a single nightmare last night like he had the previous five days.

Kira smiled "Hey you're a little late."

Sam grinned slightly "I have a hall pass from Ed."

Kira laughed then said "The team is doing inventory in the cages."

Sam said "Thanks" and headed for the cages to let Ed know he was here. Then he would go change.

* * *

 _ **SRU HQ – Locker Room – 9:05 am**_

Everyone followed Sam back into the locker room, including Jules, which was odd. He wondered what was up. It didn't take long to find out what it was.

Sam looked at his locker and grimaced.

A piece of paper was taped to his locker. It had a picture of him asleep in the backseat of the SUV. It read:

 _Unacceptable Nap Locations_

 _1\. Middle of the Street  
2\. Stone Cold Apartment  
3\. SRU Conference Room Three  
4\. Upside Down SRU SUV  
5\. SRU Rooftop  
6\. Elephant Enclosure  
7\. SRU Elevator  
8\. China Shop  
9\. Backseat of SRU SUV_

Sam laughed. What else could he do? That was one heck of a list. Some were technically not napping.

Number one he figured referred to Christmas Eve when he was hit by the car. Number two was when he spent three days alone in his apartment sick with bronchitis with no heat or electricity. Numbers three, five, seven and nine were true naps he was caught in. Number four though was when he and Wordy were broadsided by the truck. Number six was when he fell into the elephant enclosure during the training session with Team Three. Number eight most definitely was his latest fiasco where his got glass in his ass in the china shop.

While technically not all napping incidents Sam could see Spike's thought process. And this was definitely Spike's work. There was no doubt of that.

Sam carefully took the sheet off his locker. He would keep this. In a weird way it showed him that they cared about him and he was a member of the team. He was really beginning to feel like he might just have found a new place to belong. Especially after what Ed did for him last night.

But he couldn't let Spike get off scot-free. Sam turned to Spike and said with a small smile "Revenge is best served ice cold."

Spike laughed "How'd you know it was me?"

The rest of the team just laughed as Ed said "Who else would it be?"

Sam folded the paper and put it in his locker. Everyone except Ed headed back out to the cage to finish inventory as Sam dressed.

When they were alone Ed asked "How you feeling today Sam?"

"Rested. Thanks again" Sam responded.

Ed went to his locker and opened it. He withdrew a new gun safe. He went back to Sam and said "It fit."

Sam took the gun safe. He could tell instantly it was new. Not something just sitting around unused in Ed's garage.

He looked up at Ed with a questioning look as he stumbled out "Thanks Ed but why? This is clearly new."

"It just felt like the thing to do Sam. It's a nice colt and it deserved a safer place than your bedside table" Ed said as he handed him the keys. He then added "It would be a shame to see something that nice mishandled."

Sam heard the meaning in Ed's words, especially the ones not voiced. Ed was telling him not to pull the trigger on himself. Sam nodded and said "Perhaps I should keep this in my closet."

"Sounds good" Ed responded then turned and headed out of the locker room without another word.

Ed knew by Sam's response he understood his meaning. Sam would not commit suicide on his watch. He was too important to this team; to this family.

Sam sat down on the bench and inserted the keys. He opened the gun safe and looked at the colt. His eyes lit on the inside top of the box. It was inscribed.

He teared up as he read _To an honorable brother, welcome to Team One._ It was also inscribed with yesterday's date. Matt's birthday.

Looking up as a few tears dripped down Sam whispered "Matt I think I found a place to belong again."

Sam wiped the tears and set the gun safe down. He retrieved the list of unacceptable nap locations from his locker. He put the list into the gun safe and closed it.

Then Sam thought, the backseat of the SRU SUV may be an unacceptable nap location but it surely changed his life for the better. He would never regret that nap.


	9. Taxi

**Taxi  
**

* * *

 _ **SIU – Interview Room**_

"Sam you okay? Dale Gibbson asked as he gave his client and friend an assessing look.

How could Sam be okay? This shot would be weighing heavily on him. Dale would do all in his power to protect Sam. He had no doubt it was a good shot that just went horribly wrong. Somethings were just out of their control.

Running his hands through his hair Sam paused before he answered. God he was so tired. The SIU agent across the table was looking at him with raptor eyes just looking for a weak spot. If he admitted to being tired how would Agent Claudia Danville twist the comment?

Sam answered "I could use a coffee."

Agent Danville was very tired. She was the new agent in the office so got all the shitty hours. She had been on call but never expected to be called at three am to come in and deal with something like this. It took her an hour to get here. Then she had to read the transcript before coming in here.

She had to do all that without coffee. Now this officer was asking for coffee. Well hell, if she could do this without the aid of coffee then so could he.

Claudia pushed a water bottle to Constable Braddock and said "No coffee, someone broke the carafe. All I have is water. Are you ready to begin?"

Taking the water Sam nodded as he opened it and then downed half. He had been waiting in this room for nearly two hours. He had nearly fallen asleep several times as he waited for the agent to come in. Sam thought that if the agent had taken much longer to get in here the SIU interview room might have made it to the Unacceptable Nap Locations list.

"Okay start from the beginning" Danville instructed.

Sam finished the second half of the water then said "The team responded to the call. Ed designated me as Sierra One. I got into position and waited as the Boss began to negotiate."

Danville interrupted "Ed and Boss?"

Dale answered "Constable Ed Lane and Sergeant Greg Parker."

Sam rolled his head around his shoulders, stifled a yawn and continued "After four hours of negotiating the Boss had gotten all but one of the hostages released. The subject still would not release the one that he blamed all his problems on. The subject re-escalated when the hostage slapped him and told him he was a worthless piece of garbage. I was given Scorpio when the gun began to rise toward the hostage."

He stopped as the image ran through his head. Sam swallowed and firmly put his mask in place. With no emotion he stated "I had the subject in sight and pulled the trigger. At the last second the hostage lunged at the subject. She moved into the path of the bullet."

Danville challenged "With the hostage so close why did you shoot?"

Sam blinked. That was a stupid question. He answered "He was preparing to shoot the hostage. I was given the order to fire. It's my job. I had the solution."

"But you shot the hostage not the subject" Danville stated with an edge and accusation in her voice.

Sam's breathing was a bit heavier. He dropped his eyes to the table. God this hurt. He almost killed another innocent like he had killed Matt.

He lifted his eyes and looked into the raptor-like eyes of the SIU agent again. She was out for his blood. Sam wasn't sure what to say. Hell there was nothing he could say.

Dale looked at Agent Danville and said "Enough. Constable Braddock was given the order to fire. He did his job. He cannot control the hostage's movements."

Danville then asked "Why did you not then take another shot to neutralize the subject? You allowed him to fire and it hit one of your teammates."

Sam wanted to yell 'Why the fuck do you think? I just shot a hostage. The person I was trying to protect. It screwed with my head for a moment. I'm human not a fucking robot'.

Then in his head Sam heard Spike calling out 'it's in the vest' as he checked Wordy. Sam knew he had frozen for a second when he saw the woman was hit instead of the subject. It ate at him that the subject got off a shot and it hit Wordy in the vest. While he was frozen, Ed had taken the second shot that neutralized the subject.

None of this could he share with the SIU agent. Otherwise he would be out of a job. The look on her face told him that.

So Sam answered "Ed was Sierra Two. We are a team and train to back each other up. Ed had the shot and he took it."

"So you did not have the shot?" Danville asked.

Shaking his head Sam said "No."

Technically it was not a lie. No he did not have the shot because he could not take his eyes off the woman falling to the ground for that second. He was trying to see if he killed her. Thank god he had not.

Sam didn't know if he could do this job anymore if he had killed an innocent. It was bad enough that he had shot her. But at least she was alive.

Agent Danville maintained her laser focus on Braddock. There was something in his eyes that told her he was not telling the truth. She said sharply "But I'm told that you are the best and fastest sniper in SRU. You expect me to believe you did not have the shot from your position when you previously had the shot."

Sam remained quiet. Exhaustion was getting the better of him and if he opened his mouth he might say something he regretted. He would rely on Dale to handle Danville.

Dale looked at Danville. Why the hell did Sam get assigned the most inept and callous SIU agents? He stated "Constable Braddock has given you his statement. Unless you have further questions that are relevant I suggest this interview is over."

Danville turned to Gibbson "He did not answer my last question."

"All I heard was a statement. What you believe is not something Constable Braddock is privy to. Nor is it a relevant fact in this matter" Dale stated.

Then he shut Danville down as Dale quantified "The facts speak for themselves. Constable Braddock was given the Scorpio command. He took the shot. The hostage put herself in the line of his fire after Constable Braddock pulled the trigger. The hostage was hit as a result of her moving, not Constable Braddock's aim. A second later the subject fired and hit Constable Wordsworth in the vest. Constable Lane as Sierra Two had the shot and took it. It was all by the book and within protocol. It also all happened within three seconds."

Danville closed the file. She was miffed at Gibbson. A civilian was shot and someone needed to be held accountable. The officer that shot her should be the one. She would pursue this later today after she got some sleep and some coffee in her.

She stood and said "That is all for now. I may have more questions later. You will be notified when a decision on the legality of the shooting is made. Until then you are on administrative leave."

After she left, Dale turned to Sam "It was a good shoot Sam. Not the outcome any of us want but I do not think you have anything to worry about. Go home and get some rest."

Sam let his guard down a bit as he softly asked "Can you find out for me how the woman is?"

Dale patted Sam "Of course. I'll call you later this afternoon. You look like hell and like you need a good sleep."

Shaking his head Sam replied "I need to know sooner. Just leave a voice mail if I don't answer my phone."

Standing up Dale nodded "Okay. Let's go."

The two headed out of the SIU interview room. They were greeted by an agent that said the patrol car that was supposed to run Sam back to the SRU headquarters was called out to a morning rush hour accident. He called Sam a taxi and said it would be a bit before it arrived.

Dale said "I could give you a ride Sam."

Sam shook his head "It's in the opposite direction of your home Dale. I'll just wait for the taxi. Thanks for being here in the middle of the night."

Patting Sam's shoulder Dale grinned "Like I've told you before Sam. I'm here whenever you need me. Don't worry about Danville. She'll learn eventually that cops are human too; that you are not robots that do not have emotions. She'll also learn very quickly that you cannot control everything and sometimes bad things happen even when you are doing the right thing."

Those words were like a warm, comforting cloak being put around Sam's weary shoulders. Sam knew that Dale understood and was still in his corner. The way Dale defended him when Danville made the crack about him being the fastest and best sniper told Sam that Dale knew. Because of Dale's constant and continued support, Dale had become not only his lawyer but a solid friend.

They shook hands and Dale headed out as Sam sat down in the lobby chair to wait for the taxi.

His mind shifted wondering how Wordy was feeling. The fact that Wordy was shot hurt him more than the hostage. Sam put his elbows on his thighs and let his head drop into his hands. He was so exhausted.

He jerked up twenty minutes later when the receptionist said "Your taxi is here."

Sam stood up slowly and headed out the door. He slid into the back of the taxi and said "SRU Headquarters please." Then he gave him the address.

He slumped down in the seat thinking that SIU Lobby almost made it to the Unacceptable Nap Location list too. Feeling totally drained Sam laid his head on the back of the seat and closed his eyes. It would normally be a short ride to SRU HQ from SIU but it was morning rush hour now. Sam settled in for the extended ride.

* * *

 _ **SRU HQ – Briefing Room**_

The team minus Ed and Sam sat in the briefing room and each of them was exhausted beyond measure. This shift had been grueling, the pace faster than most days. It didn't help that they transitioned from working days to nights with only one day between. Their last call had a horrendous outcome too that each had to process.

Spike leaned back in his chair and breathed out "There's gotta be something about a full moon that makes people crazy."

Leah leaned forward and input "Researchers at Université Laval's School of Psychology in Quebec did a three year study to see if mental illness and the phases of the moon are linked. They found that there was no link between the incidence of psychological problems and the four lunar phases."

Jules scoffed "Tell that to the people we dealt with today. Full moons are like Valentine's Day. Non-stop and full of crazy situations."

Spike and Greg nodded.

Ed strode into the room and looked at the team "Sam's not back yet?"

Greg shook his head "Nope. You beat him back. How'd it go?"

Ed pulled out a chair and sat down tiredly "As well as can be expected. It was just damned bad luck the hostage moved into the line of fire." Ed then looked at Wordy "How are you feeling Wordy?"

Wordy grimaced a bit but said "I'm good. Just a little sore."

Leah turned to Wordy "You should go home and rest Wordy."

"No. I need to be here when Sam gets back. He needs to see I'm alright" Wordy responded.

"We can let Sam know you are okay" Leah replied.

Wordy looked to Spike, Jules, Ed and Greg. They understood what he understood. Sam would need to actually see him. They all knew Sam would be carrying guilt for him getting shot; even if it was in the vest and not his fault. It was a trait of this team. Every one of them knew it. Every one of them did it too.

Leah urged "Wordy you really need some rest. It's got to be hurting too. Sam will understand that you had to go home."

Looking at Leah, Wordy readjusted his thinking. Everyone on the team except Leah got it. She was more accepted now. She had learned some about them and was more integrated but there were still times she just didn't get it; especially when it came to Sam.

But hey it was Sam and he was complex. But this was simple. Sam took the shot. It hit the hostage. As a result the subject fired and it hit him in the vest. Sam needed to be shown he was alright. Going home and resting was out of the question until he had a chance to talk to Sam.

Peter entered the briefing room and spoke to Greg quietly.

Greg stood and said "Sam's here. Ed, come with me please."

Ed stood and wondered what was up. He and Greg left the room following Peter.

Jules stood. So did Spike. Both started for the door. Wordy stood up and winced slightly at his sore shoulder and followed Spike and Jules.

Leah slowly got up and followed the rest of them. She wondered what was up and why Sam didn't come into the briefing room like Ed had.

* * *

 _ **Outside SRU HQ**_

The taxi driver stood near the entrance of the SRU building. He saw several people coming. A tall bald man and a shorter bald man were first out the door. The shorter bald man spoke to him.

Greg saw the taxi driver and went directly to him "I'm Sergeant Parker. Peter told me you wanted to speak to me."

The taxi driver nodded and in a heavy Chinese accent said "He say he have no wallet to pay when he get in. Say he get money when we get here. But he no wake up."

Ed looked past the driver to the taxi. He saw Sam in the back. When he heard the driver Ed sprinted to the taxi. He was closely followed by Spike and Jules.

Greg pulled out his wallet and paid the taxi driver. He would get reimbursement from SRU later.

Wordy was going slower than normal and came along side Greg as he was putting his wallet back. He asked "What's up?"

"Sam had to take a taxi back from SIU. The driver said he will not wake up" Greg answered as they headed to the taxi.

Ed opened the door. Sure enough Sam was asleep. They all knew very well not to startle Sam awake. He looked at Spike and Jules "Any ideas?"

The taxi driver was getting impatient "Wake him. He go. Need go get new fare. Need make money."

Leah joined the rest of them behind Greg and Wordy. She wondered why someone did just reach in and shake Sam awake. She shook her head and rounded the other side of the taxi.

As she opened the door and reached in to shake Sam awake the entire team yelled "Nooooo."

Too late. Leah's hand landed on Sam's shoulder just as the team yelled no.

Sam startled awake and felt a hand on his shoulder. He was disoriented for a split second. But that was all it took for Sam's instinct and training to play out. His hand clasped the wrist of the hand on his shoulder and he twisted it.

Leah screamed in surprise as her body twisted with her hand and she ended up on her back across the back seat of the taxi with her arm wrench uselessly above her and Sam's other hand closing around her neck.

It took Sam less than a second to realize who it was he was holding. His hands instantly released Leah. His voice was sincerely apologetic "Sorry. Sorry. Oh crap I'm so sorry Leah. Did I hurt you?"

Leah's eyes were still wide with surprise. Sam moved lightning fast. Holy moly. She blinked a moment then found her voice as she started to get up "I'm okay."

Sam watched Leah gingerly rub her wrist. He turned and saw the rest of the team. Sam dropped his head and lowered his eyes. Today was a bad day. Two teammates hurt because of him.

"You wake now. You go. Out taxi now" the taxi driver said loudly.

Sam slid out of the taxi then closed the door without looking at the team next to him. However he did look at Leah on the other side of the taxi as she closed that door too. He felt so badly about hurting her. The taxi physically separating them drove off quickly.

Leah started forward to Sam. She saw the hurt look in his eyes. She said "I'm sorry I startled you. I know you didn't mean to do that." She smiled and added "I now know why the rest of the team was just standing around trying to figure out how to wake you up. Lesson learned. Don't startle Sam awake."

She put her hand on his shoulder "Really Sam, I'm okay. More surprised than anything."

Sam nodded accepting that he had not really hurt her. He finally turned to the team. His eyes landed on Wordy. He could see Wordy holding his arm stiffly and a small furrow in Wordy's brow. He was in pain.

Wordy came forward and put his uninjured arm around Sam's shoulder. He leaned close and said "I'm okay too. Just a little bruising. I already called Shel and you are coming home with me today."

"No I cannot impose" Sam said quietly.

"Nonsense Sam, you are not imposing. You are family. We all had a very rough shift" Wordy said.

Spike pipped up "If you don't want to go home with Wordy, I could stay at your place."

Jules hooked her arm around one of Sam's and said "You could always come stay in my spare room. I'll make your favorite cookies."

Greg smiled and shared a look with Ed. This team knew that Sam should not be alone after today. It warmed his heart to see Wordy, Spike and Jules all offering to ensure he was not alone.

Leah watched the team. Things were beginning to click. She could see that everyone was really concerned for Sam. Shooting a hostage even by accident had to be tough to cope with. The longer she was with this team the more she liked it. They were more like a surrogate family. It was nice because her family lived so far away in Haiti.

Sam turned to Wordy and said "If it wouldn't be an imposition I'll stay with you."

Wordy grinned "Good. The girls have been begging to see you. You can be my stand in when they wake up and want to tackle someone."

Sam smiled at that. He loved Wordy's girls. They were all so unique and precious. Being around them was like seeing small fragments of the beauty of life. Their giggles and laughter always brightened his mood. Getting tackled by Allie, Lily and Holly right now seemed pretty good to him. He needed their tickle therapy right about now.

Ed was glad to see the grin on Sam's face. Today was terrible. Staying with Wordy, Shel and the girls would be good for Sam.

As they headed back into the building Ed could not resist as he laughed then said "You know Samo, I'm gonna have to add Taxi to the Unacceptable Nap Locations list."

Sam turned to Ed and nodded with a small lopsided smile "Yeah I kinda figured that would make it to the list."


	10. Ledge on a Cliff

**Ledge on a Cliff  
**

* * *

 _ **Ledge on a Cliff**_

The air expanded Sam's lungs in a great silent gasp. It had felt like forever until he was able to get his dazed mind to remember that he needed air to live. He heard them all frantically calling to him for status. But first he needed air. Then he could think about responding.

Sam took several breaths in and out. He finally had enough air that he ventured to open his eyes but not enough to speak yet. Yeah he was where he didn't expect to be. Sam expected to be hundreds of feet further down the cliff. He expected to be dead.

Looking up at the dark snow filled clouds little snowflakes wetted his face. Sam probably had the snow to thank for not being dead. It was wet and cold under him but it had cushioned his fall. But he was cold now so he wasn't too happy it was snowing. And truthfully it was the snow's fault he was here in the first place.

He actually had this little ledge to thank for not being dead. How he ended up here and not down at the bottom of the cliff Sam would never know. He must have gotten lucky.

Well not so lucky, but lucky enough not to be dead.

His back ached as he drew in another much needed breath. He must have landed squarely on his back on this ledge. Sam never saw it as his body had started its unexpected, uncontrolled and untethered descent down the cliff.

Trying to get in enough air to respond to now only the Boss' calls for status Sam watched as night quickly approached. It would be dark soon. Sam wondered if he would have to spend the night on this ledge. Before long it would be too dark for the team to safely rappel down to him.

* * *

 _ **Top of the Cliff**_

The team had all frantically called Sam's name until the Boss shut them all down "Quiet. If Sam responds we will not be able to hear him."

Ed held Jules' legs as she laid on her stomach and edged out over the cliff to see if she could see where Sam was in the ever darkening evening. He glanced at Wordy and Spike as they corralled the subjects waiting for uniforms to reach them and take custody. Ed was seething at how quickly things had changed.

One moment everything was in control. All the subjects cuffed. He, Wordy and Sam had chased all eight of them down and ended up here. The subjects stopped and had given up when they got to the edge of this cliff. There was nowhere for them to run. They were trapped.

Sam went forward to cuff each one and check for weapons while he and Wordy covered him. With eight subjects they were outnumbered almost three to one so they needed to have more than one of them covering while they took the subjects into custody. Sam had finished cuffing the last one when things went south.

One of subjects near the edge of the cliff started to yell at one of the others blaming him for getting them into this mess. The subject then lunged at his cohort intending to knock him off the cliff. Sam had reached out to stop the subject. Sam succeeded but then his boot slipped on an icy spot and then Sam was falling.

And there wasn't a damned thing Ed or Wordy could do to catch him. Sam was too far away and he was not tethered to any sort of line. Sam was there one moment and out of sight the next.

Ed and Wordy had begun the chorus of yells to Sam. They were quickly increased as the rest of the team arrived and understood what had happened.

Jules scooted out further praying she would see Sam hanging onto a branch, a root or a vine or god knows what else. It was Samtastic and he did awesome and amazing things. She did not want to see his body at the bottom of the cliff. But she braced herself for that possibility because this was a cliff after all and according to Ed he had gone over backwards.

She imagined the terror Sam must have felt as he plummeted downwards. Her breath caught in the back of her throat. That was just too painful to think about.

Jules scanned in the dimming light. It was hard to see. Then she gasped "I see him. I see Sam. He is on a ledge. He's not moving."

"How far down?" Ed asked urgently.

"About twenty feet give or take" Jules responded. Then she called out loudly "Sam we see you. If you can hear me, say something."

They were all silent waiting for the slightest sound. None came.

Ed looked to Spike and Wordy guarding the eight subjects. He saw that the subjects were all cowed and quiet. Ed would risk leaving only Wordy watching them as he directed "Spike, go get the rappelling gear."

Greg was on the phone with EMS giving directions to their exact location and details so far as he knew it for Sam, which wasn't much. He answered their question "No we do not know if he is alive. He hasn't responded to our calls _yet_."

He emphasized _yet_. Greg really did not want to think that Sam was dead. Sam was just catching his breath is what Greg told himself and hoped to god it was true.

Sam finally got enough air in to speak after hearing Jules call down to him. It came out on a soft breath of air "Boss."

Greg told EMS to hold "Sam. It's good to hear your voice. Can you tell me your status?"

* * *

 _ **Ledge on a Cliff**_

Sam shifted a bit and his back muscles complained loudly. He tested his hands and arms and then his feet and legs. Finally he responded "Back is a bit sore. All other parts are in working order."

"Okay Sam. Good to hear. You just relax there and we will be down to get you in a bit. EMS is coming" Greg said calmly as relief swept through him.

Shivering with the cold and probably with the shock his body had endured Sam's voice was a little unsteady as he responded "Copy that."

Hearing his own voice, how shaky it sounded, Sam was concerned that the team would be really worried. So he tried real hard to steady it and imbued a hint of humor into his voice as he said "I'll just lay here and take a little nap."

His words elicited the right response. He heard the soft half chuckles from the team. Sam could tell they were not really relaxed but his attempt at humor allayed at least some of their fears.

Sam closed his eyes. He was cold and he ached. He concentrated on trying to relax his body. He did not intend to actually fall asleep but he was quite successful in getting his body to relax and Sam drifted off.

* * *

 _ **Top of the Cliff**_

Ed pulled Jules back up. She looked at Ed and said "It is getting cold. The temperature is dropping fast. Sam is on a tiny ledge. It's just barely big enough for his body."

Spike called out "On my way back. I grabbed the emergency pack; it has a blanket in it Jules."

Six uniformed officers showed up just before Spike returned. They marched off the subjects relieving Wordy of that duty.

When Spike got back they all pitched in to get two rappelling lines secured. Ed and Jules would go down and assess Sam's condition and get a secure line on him. Wordy and Spike would monitor their lines. Greg would set up additional lines for the EMTs to use. They knew the EMTs would want to bring Sam up in a basket seeing that he said his back hurt. They would want to minimize any potential damage until he could be checked out completely.

Jules rechecked her line and then tucked the emergency blanket between her vest and body. It would warm it a bit before she reached Sam. She went to the edge and looked to Spike then said "Ready."

Spike nodded and braced his feet "Go. I got you."

Jules started down.

Ed finished attaching his line and Wordy handed him a cervical collar that was in the emergency pack that Spike brought. Ed went to the edge of the cliff and saw that Jules was nearly down twenty feet. She was almost to Sam.

Wordy braced himself and said "I'm set. Down you go Ed."

Ed gave a curt nod and then started over the cliff.

Greg called out "Careful guys" as he was working to secure the safety line for Sam to a tree.

* * *

 _ **Ledge on a Cliff**_

Jules arrived at Sam. She saw there was no place for either her or Ed on the ledge. So she positioned herself near Sam's mid-section and braced her legs on the cliff wall. She saw Sam's eyes closed and his even breathing. A breathing pattern she was becoming reacquainted with as she watched him sleep at night again.

Carefully she pulled out the blanket and unfolded it. In a calm voice she was not really feeling Jules said "Sam. I'm going to put a blanket on you."

Sam did not stir. It was hard to see his face now that the sun had nearly set. Jules covered Sam with the blanket. She wanted to offer words of comfort but she was afraid she might give away the fact that they were dating and much closer than mere colleagues once again.

She knew it was the right thing for them. They had tried to ignore what was between them. It did not work. So they were back to sneaking around. Back to hiding how they truly felt about each other from the team.

It was a secret Jules hoped they could keep until they could figure out what the future held for them. She knew she wanted more than just dating but it was tricky figuring it all out. So now, even though she wanted to act very differently, Jules made sure she did not cross the professional line. She shoved all her desires to hold and caress Sam down deeply and locked them up tight.

Ed appeared at her side and asked "Samo how you doing?"

There was no response.

Jules said "I think he really did go to sleep. Either that or he hit is head too and slipped unconscious."

Ed got the cervical collar ready and was about to put it on when Jules stayed his hand "That might startle him."

Stopping and pulling back his hand Ed blew out a breath "Forgot about that. That would be bad. Let's get the safety line attached to his vest first."

The two of them worked to attach the line. Sam did not wake while they did so and that concerned them both. But they both remained silent and did not put voice to their concerns.

Once the line was secure and the Boss was braced and manning Sam's line Ed pulled out the cervical collar. Ed spoke to Sam "Hey Samo. Wake up. I gotta get a collar on you. Don't want you to startle and continue your path down the cliff."

The sleepy fog filling Sam's brain lifted hearing voices close to him. He blinked open his eyes and they found Ed and Jules near him. Sam stopped himself from reaching out for Jules. He wanted nothing more than to feel her hands running through his hair helping him to get a handle on the pain he felt.

But he could not do that. It would give them away. It would mean being reassigned to different teams and possibly the Boss' job. The risks were greater than the need. So Sam slipped on a mask to quell those desires.

Jules put on a fake smile and decided to keep it light as she asked "Did you enjoy your nap on the ledge of a cliff?"

Sam loved that Jules just kept it light. It helped him. So he played along and snorted "It has a nice view in the daytime. But not such a good place to nap. Bit too cold and wet."

Ed held out the collar and said "I'm gonna put this on and I'm seriously considering attaching a leash to it. You scared the hell out of us."

Sam thought, scared the hell out of myself too. But he said lightly "What am I your puppy now?"

Chuckling Ed replied "Something like that. Gotta do something to train you to not take unacceptable risks."

As the collar was put on Sam smirked "This one was not my fault Ed. Can't lecture me on what you _think_ are unacceptable risks and I _know_ are necessary and calculated risks this time."

Seeing the basket starting to come down Jules said "You too can argue later. For now let's just get Sam up top."

One EMT rappelled down and between the three of them they got Sam into the basket. Sam was able to hold in his hisses and groans as his back screamed at him. Then Sam was hauled up as the EMT stabilized the basket. Ed and Jules followed them up.

* * *

 _ **Top of the Cliff**_

Jules was the last one up. She saw the EMTs taking Sam's vitals and doing a quick assessment before they moved him. She removed and packed her rappelling gear as the rest of the team did so too.

They were all packed as the EMTs finished assessing Sam. Wordy and Ed moved forward to help the EMTs carry Sam in the basket back to where the vehicles were located. Jules, Spike, and Greg carried all the gear as they headed out.

Jules watched as Sam was loaded into the ambulance. She really wanted to be the one to go with him. But Ed had gone with Sam. She would have to wait with the rest of the team in the ER waiting room to find out how badly he was injured.

* * *

 _ **Hospital – ER Waiting Room**_

The team arrived shortly after Ed and Sam had. Nancy showed them into the small waiting room. Jules thought that perhaps the team should have a waiting room designated just for them. They were here often enough.

Spike headed off to the nurses' break room. He was no longer shy about going and grabbing a juice or a package of animal crackers. Clare had shown him where they were and he could see that Jules was a bit shaky. Her adrenaline drop must be very hard for her to be this shaky. Coffee would not be the best for her right now so he headed out to get juice and cookies.

Ed paced unable to relax. Sure he and Sam joked and it was light. But that was just deflection. He saw how hard Sam worked not to make a sound as they got him into the basket. The beads of sweat that burst forth and the clenched jaw as Sam control his pain.

He hoped it was only bruising on his back. Twenty feet was a long drop. The thick layer of fresh snow had cushioned his fall somewhat. But it was still twenty damned feet.

Wordy stood and went to Ed "This is not your fault."

Ed stopped and looked at Wordy. He nodded twice and then resumed his pacing. It might not be his fault but he still felt like he should have done something different. He should have herded the subjects away from the edge before having Sam go cuff them.

Wordy approached Ed again "Stop. Should've, could've, and might have beens will drive you crazy. It was what it was Ed. We could not predict that Sam's boot would hit that icy patch."

"No I could not have predicted that. But I should have moved the subjects away from the edge before we cuffed them. I should have measured the risk better before sending Sam out to cuff them" Ed stated.

Greg looked at Ed. For once he agreed with Ed's statement about a should have. Yes they should have moved the subjects away from the cliff. But he held no malice towards Ed. They were human and they made mistakes. Ed, Wordy and Sam himself should have done a better job of assessing the risk. Greg wondered if the team was getting to confident. Over-confidence could make them take risks they shouldn't. Perhaps that should be a topic for a team discussion.

But then Greg thought, this is my fault. I'm their Sergeant and I should have seen this. I should have nipped this over-confidence in butt a while ago. This was squarely on his shoulders. Greg worried about his decisions lately. Was he the right man for this job anymore?

Sam got hurt today because he did not ensure his team was on point. His thoughts were interrupted as Dr. Fraser came into the waiting room. Greg stood up with Jules. Spike entered the room right behind the doctor.

Dr. Fraser shook his head, smiled and said "We gotta stop meeting like this."

He saw his attempt at humor was not sitting well with any of them today. He understood why after talking to Sam. So he moved on "Sam is doing good. Better than good. He must have a darned good guardian angel. No internal damages. No bleeding, no cracked or broken ribs. And if you can believe, myself I'm still a bit shocked, Sam had no concussion either. His back however is really bruised. His muscles will be quite sore for a few days."

Dr. Fraser turned to Ed and Greg then said "I recommend two days off then light duty for three or four. He's gonna feel it worse in the next two days. I know Sam lives alone. I'd like to release him today but I really don't want him alone for the next twenty-four to forty-eight hours. I gave him some stronger pain meds that he can take when he gets home. They should make him sleepy but with any meds I like to keep watch over Sam when he starts them to make sure there is no reaction. I'm not expecting any, it is just a precaution."

Jules wanted to say 'Sam can stay with me' but held back. She did not want to appear too eager. But she wanted to take Sam home and care for him. She wanted to ease his pain and hold him to ease her fear of almost losing him. Jules remained silent.

Wordy's face was downcast "I'd love to have Sam but my in-laws are fumigating their home and are staying with us right now."

Greg said "I could have Dean sleep on the couch for a few days."

Spike shook his head "Sam would never go for that. I would offer to stay with him but my Ma needs my help with Pa." Spike looked at Jules and said "Maybe Sam could stay with you. It would be nice and quiet and he could just sleep."

Ed said "He could stay with me."

Jules saw her opening "But didn't you say Clark is practicing at all hours of the day and night with his quartet at your house for that upcoming concert? Might be hard for Sam to rest."

"There is that" Ed conceded.

Spike perked up and said "So Jules' home it is. I'll help you get Sam home and settled in your guest room then run to his apartment and grab him some things."

Jules allowed a small smile and said "Sounds good Spike."

Greg said "Jules I think you should take tomorrow off too. Keep an eye on Sam since he is on meds. We would not be taking hot calls being down Sam anyways. No sense in getting a temp for just two days."

Jules nodded solemnly "If you think that best Boss. Sure I'll babysit Sam tomorrow."

Wordy laughed "Jules you better not let Sam hear you say that."

Jules just smirked and the others laughed. Jules smirk turned to a smile as she thought that she had gotten exactly what she wanted and the team was none the wiser. Jules would cherish the time she had to take care of him for the next day with the full support of the team.

Dr. Fraser said "Good, glad that is settled. I'll get Sam discharged." Then he headed out.

Feeling relief that Sam was not badly injured Ed finally smiled. He said to the team "You know we haven't added a new napping location to the list in quite a while."

Wordy laughed "I'd say that the ledge on a cliff is definitely an unacceptable nap location."

The team laughed. Jules and Spike headed back to get Sam to take him to Jules' home to rest.

* * *

 _ **Jules' Home – Guest Room**_

Sam carefully lowered himself to the guest bed. His back was so sore. He sat on the edge as Jules entered with a glass of water and his pain pills.

Jules handed Sam the pills then the water and as he downed them she said "Spike will be back in about an hour or so. He is going to swing by the barn first then go to your apartment." She then took the glass and set it on the bedside table.

Sam slid slowly backwards onto the bed and then laid down on his side. Jules covered him with a warm blanket then she scooted onto the bed and sat up against the headboard behind him. She gently massaged his head and neck. Jules felt Sam start to relax a bit.

"That feels good Jules" Sam said quietly.

Jules smiled and responded "I've wanted to do this since I got to you on the ledge."

Sam's eyes were getting heavy as he relaxed under Jules magic fingers. Several minutes later he sleepily he said "Wanted you to do it too. You are putting me to sleep Jules."

"Then take a nap. I'll make you dinner when you wake up" Jules said softly.

Thinking about how he actually fell asleep on the ledge Sam murmured sleepily "At least your guest bedroom is not on the unacceptable nap locations list."

Jules chuckled as she continued to lightly stroke his hair "You know the cliff ledge made it to the list."

"Mmmm k" Sam mumbled as sleep was claiming him. He felt safe and comfortable and loved under Jules' caring touch. There was no place he would rather be.

Jules continued to gently massage Sam as she listened to his breathing even out and he dropped into a deep sleep. Once she was sure he was sound asleep, aided by the pain pills, Jules moved so she was lying next to him. She wanted to put her arm around him but his back was so bruised she did not want to hurt him. So instead she laid her head close to his and breathed in his scent.

She let the fears of today wash over and through her as she let silent tears fall. Loving and caring for Sam was everything she wanted to do. Jules drifted off to sleep wishing that they could be open with their relationship.

An hour later Spike entered Jules' home after knocking several times and no one answering. He checked the kitchen and Jules was not there. He thought maybe she was upstairs in the bathroom or something. He decided to go check on Sam.

Spike opened the door. He grinned. Sam was sound asleep on his side. He saw Jules was a sleep on the other side of the bed. Spike thought that the adrenaline crash for Jules must have been huge. She never did get an opportunity to have the juice and cookies he had brought for her from the nurses' breakroom.

His two best friends were wiped out. He thought that Jules certainly needed a nap after today. So Spike entered the room and set down Sam's bag on the chair. Then he covered Jules with the blanket too.

As images of Sam being brought up the cliff in the basket played in his mind Spike dashed them away with a dose of humor. He thought that Jules guest bed was much better place for Sam to nap than the ledge of the cliff. Jules seemed to think so too Spike concluded, as he heard her soft snores.

Spike left the room and carefully closed the door. He decided to go make them some sandwiches and put them in the fridge for when they woke up from their naps. When he finished he locked up and headed home. Part of him wished he could stay here and help his best friends but his Ma needed his help with Pa.

Little did Spike know as he left his best friends napping on Jules' guest bed that in a few months he would learn that his best friends were _More Than Just Friends_ and that all three of them would be pushed to their limits and find that they needed each other to survive.

.

* * *

 _ **AN:** Hope you liked. Drop me a review and let me know. I know I made Spike a little clueless at the end but I think he is adorable that way, especially in respect to Sam and Jules relationship being more than just friends._


	11. Bike Rack

**Bike Rack  
**

* * *

 _ **Companion Piece:** Continuation of Fragments of a Beautiful Life: 4 - Open Minds and Kind Words Soothe the Pain_

* * *

 _ **Riding Back to Support Group Meeting – 11:45 pm**_

He was pedaling hard. He could not believe he left his phone in the restroom. He hoped Kelly had not left yet. Almost home and he went to pull out his phone to remotely unlock the security system at his apartment and his hand landed on an empty pocket.

If he didn't get there fast it would be an expensive repair to his door because he had configured his system to work with only his phone, no keys and no key pads. Stupid. At the time he thought it was great but now he realized that was really stupid. Adding keypads was a must.

Tomorrow he would set about rectifying that. That is if he got into his apartment at all tonight. It was cool out now but would be rather cold by morning. He did not look forward to sleeping outside. Been there and done that too much in the military.

* * *

 _ **Outside Support Group Meeting – 11:45 pm**_

Ed patted Kelly on the back "Thanks again for everything tonight Kelly."

Turning from locking the door Kelly said "Anytime Ed. I know you did not get a chance to speak tonight. How are you handling the Kovac's shooting?"

Ed's eyes closed a moment then looked steadily into Kelly's "I'm good. Never easy to take a life. Darren was too far gone and I stuck to priority of life; citizens, officers then subjects. Darren threatened Spike and then he was going to shoot Sam. Couldn't allow that."

Kelly nodded "I can see that you two really care about Sam. He was in a world of hurt tonight."

Greg sighed "Yes he was. But I'm glad he felt comfortable to talk. I'm not sure if he will come often. But I'm glad he knows he has somewhere to go if things get to overwhelming for him."

As the three of them headed out to the left to the parking lot Kelly said "Six years in Special Forces. Sam will have a lot of potential triggers. Are you sure he does not have PTSD?"

Putting his hands up in placation at Ed's hard glare Kelly added "Just asking out of concern, no judgement."

Ed softened his look and responded "No Sam does not have PTSD. In fact, according to his psychologist Dr. Dawn Tansy, Sam has one of the best coping mechanisms she has ever seen. I can second that, with what I know about him."

Kelly squinted and asked "So why did he need us if he has this Dr. Tansy?"

Greg explained "She has been away at a conference in Germany as a keynote speaker. If Sam did not come tonight I would have contacted her again on Monday when she returned."

Ed stood at the car door as Greg and Kelly conversed a moment about Dawn's qualifications. Kelly was always on the lookout for good psychologists to refer members of the group too. Ed saw a figure on a bike speeding towards the building.

In the limited streetlights he wasn't sure if it was Sam. The hair was blonde and cut military style and he was of similar build. But Sam left over fifteen minutes ago. Why would he be returning?

"Why is Samo returning?" Ed said as he headed back to the building and towards the bike rack, which was to the right of the entrance and behind a three quarter height wall, because that is where the person on the bike was headed.

Greg and Kelly heard Ed and looked in the direction that Ed was headed. They followed.

* * *

 _ **Outside Support Group Meeting – Bike Rack – 11:53 pm**_

Carles headed straight for the bike rack. He was almost there when he saw Ed, Greg and thank god Kelly heading for the bike rack too. He smiled knowing he would not be sleeping outside tonight. Carles waved as he came to a stop just near the bike rack.

Ed called out "Thought you were Sam. What are you doing back here?"

Hopping off his bike Carles answered "Left my phone in the bathroom stall. Can't get into my apartment without it."

At the quizzical looks from Ed, Greg and Kelly, Carles briefly explained his self-installed security system.

Ed chuckled "You know Spike would like you."

"Spike?" Carles asked.

Greg nodded "Our techie. Ed is right; you two would get along beautifully."

Kelly said "Put your bike in the rack Carles and I'll open up so you can get your phone." Then he headed for the entrance with his keys in his hands.

Carles grinned and headed to the bike rack. He stopped short as he rounded the wall. The first thought that went through his head was that Sam lied to him. The pill container was for caffeine pills, that was for certain, he had read it. But the pills must have been something he slipped into it.

His friend Johnson, who died of an overdose of downers, had hid his addiction that way. No one knew until he died that was how he was hiding his downers. Johnson had used a small Tylenol bottle.

With deep concern Carles turned back to Greg and Ed and said "Um. I think you guys have a problem and I'm worried for Sam. I saw Sam taking pills in the bathroom tonight. He said they were caffeine pills and he showed me the bottle. But … um. I don't think that's what they were."

Ed looked critically at Carles, "Why do you say that?"

"Because … um … well you have to see this … its Sam" Carles stammered out as he turned his head back to the bike rack.

Rushing forward Ed and Greg stopped as they rounded the corner.

Ed shook his head and grinned with a twinkle in his eyes "Well don't that beat all."

Greg chuckled as he turned to Carles "We know they were not caffeine pills."

Carles was confused by the reaction. Sam was straddling his bike. His arms were crossed on the handle bars. Carles could see his was out. But why were Ed and Greg smiling and chuckling?

"If you knew why did you let him take them? He needs more help than our group can give him. He needs professional drug counseling. He needs help to kick the habit before it ruins his life or kills him" Carles said with clear concern in his voice and in his expression.

Ed chuckled "No counseling needed. They were sugar pills. Spike swapped them out today."

Greg explained "We knew Sam was not sleeping. We suspected nightmares. The team conspired to cut-off his caffeine today. Hence, the reason for only decaf coffee tonight. Sam was too wired on caffeine and we hoped in doing so that he would actually sleep tonight."

Carles looked back at Sam in disbelief "So he is sleeping? How? He's standing and straddling a bike. Shouldn't he be falling over?"

Kelly wondered what was taking so long for Carles to come to the entrance and had wandered back in time to hear Carles. He looked at Sam. "Wow that is some skill. I bet with six years in Special Forces that came in handy."

Ed nodded "Yeah. The only tricky part is we have to wake him without startling him. Startling Sam is a good way to get killed."

Greg chuckled and added "Or to get thrown onto your back in seconds flat and almost get a fist slammed into your jaw."

"Yeah, yeah, don't remind me" Ed muttered.

Kelly laughed "Sounds like personal experience."

"Oh yeah" Greg said with mirth "Eddie here learned the hard way not to startle Sam."

Ed grinned "I'm not the only one. Remember Leah and the taxi?"

Greg stated "Couldn't forget that. So how do you think we should wake him; especially given his exhausted state and the nightmares he has been having? It could be extremely risky."

Looking around Ed could only come up with one idea but he would try loud speaking first. He stepped forward but far away enough from Sam and called out loudly "Samo wake up. Hey wake up."

When Sam made no indication of waking Ed stepped to the rear of the bike and grabbed the tire. Ed tried again with words "Sam you need to wake up. You cannot sleep here." With no response again, Ed shook the back tire vigorously.

Sam startled awake. His eyes flew open and he scanned quickly trying to figure out where he was and why the earth was shaking so violently. Was it an earthquake?

Realization of where he was at dawned quickly. Sam lifted his head and turned to look behind him. He saw Ed's huge Cheshire cat grin.

Smiling hugely Ed shook his head slowly from side to side "Samo, Samo, Samo." He sighed dramatically then added "You know I'm gonna have to add bike rack to the unacceptable nap locations list."

Sam looked beyond Ed and saw the Sarge, Carles and Kelly looking at him. It hit him that he had been sleeping.

He smiled and said "That's alright. At least I was sleeping. Those damned caffeine pills suck. They are not working."

Greg and Ed laughed and Greg said "Come on Sam. Leave your bike here. I'll give you a ride home."

Swinging his leg over his bike, Sam nodded in agreement. It would not be wise to try to ride home right now. He was exhausted.

Ed swung his arm around Sam's shoulder "How about you come spend the night at my home. We can go shoot some golf in the morning then trounce Clark and his friends in a few games of basketball. We can come here after that and pick up your bike."

That sounded good to Sam. He liked shooting golf with Ed and he liked playing basketball with Clark. He nodded and said tiredly "Sure, thanks Ed. I just gotta lock my bike up."

"Toss me the keys Sam. I'll take care of it and give the keys back to Greg. You look dead on your feet" Carles said.

Sam dug out his keys and handed them over. Ed started moving and took Sam in tow with him. He guided an exhausted Sam to Greg's car.

Greg patted Sam's back as Ed and Sam walked by him. He watched them walk slowly to his car. Greg was glad that Sam took Ed up on his offer. They were making inroads with Sam. He was letting the team take care of him when he needed it. That was good.

Carles quickly locked up Sam's bike and handed the keys to Greg. He turned to Kelly and said "I'll just run in and get my phone."

Kelly nodded as Carles headed off. Then he turned to his old friend "What is this unacceptable nap locations list?"

Greg laughed "Oh just a list of the odd places we have found Sam sleeping. Bike rack is certainly one of the oddest places. But I'm damned glad Carles left his phone. Otherwise we would have never known. Sam would have gotten cold tonight. Not a good thing for his lungs."

Kelly nodded as an old news report and something Greg had shared in one of the meetings came to mind. Kelly blew out a breath "I didn't connect it before. That's him. The one you were so upset about. The one you thought you would lose because of the way the team treated him. The one that got shot in the gang war."

Several emotions flickered across Greg's face. He tilted his head and replied "Yeah that's him. That's Samtastic."

Kelly patted Greg's back and said sincerely "You did good Greg. I can see you all did good. Sam is lucky to have you and Ed in his life."

Greg grinned "We are lucky to have him in our lives too." Then he headed toward the car seeing Ed close the back passenger door. He waved to Kelly and said "Goodnight."

Kelly stood and watched Greg and Ed get into the car as he thought; yeah it is a good night. Then Kelly said softly out loud as the car pulled out of the parking lot "I hope you have pleasant dreams tonight Sam. You deserve them."

* * *

 _ **Epilogue**_

Sam had pleasant dreams and slept well that night. Sophie made him a wonderful breakfast and Sam enjoyed his Saturday with Ed and Clark.

On Sunday, Sam made a call to his Dad and his father said he would send Carles the name of the soldier that had saved him. Then he went for a day long bike ride and enjoyed the feeling of the cool breeze on his face.

Sam woke rested at 4:30 am on Monday and headed into the barn after chucking his caffeine pills into the trash. He didn't need them. Besides they were useless anyways, even after taking more than recommended amount he had fallen asleep straddling his bike in the bike rack.

 _Matt was happy to see Sam doing better and that in time that memory of Shy would become less painful and his soul would heal._

 _Bernael was pissed off that he had failed again and faded away to plan his next attempt to claim Samuel's soul._

.

* * *

 _ **AN:** __Hope you enjoyed this short one. **I'd love to hear what you thought of it.**_


	12. SRU Shoot House

**SRU Shoot House**

* * *

 _ **SRU HQ – Inside Shoot House**_

Wordy grinned. He was having a good time tonight. He liked training days and this one had been stellar. Wordy was glad to have the opportunity to train with Team One today-even if it was unofficial. He missed being on the team a lot. Wordy crept up behind the Boss and let loose a shot. The blue paint splattered all over his back.

Greg groaned as he turned around. "I'm out again. Thanks, Wordy. I'll remember that when it comes time for annual reviews," he called out loudly so the rest of the team could hear that he was out of the game.

Wordy chuckled and shuffled off quickly so the others couldn't find him.

Greg headed out of the shoot house. He had to hand it to Ed, he'd put them all through their paces today and decided to end the grueling training day with a bit of fun with a everyone for himself paintball game. It was a good way to blow off the stress of today.

Spike liked his spot, he was well hidden. He watched the Boss walk past him and didn't think he even saw him. Now all he had to do was lay in wait for one of the team to walk by.

Jules whispered to Sam, "That's not fair."

Sam gave her a lopsided grin. "All's fair in love and war ... and this is war my love," he whispered back.

Jules rolled her eyes. "It's a good thing we don't have headsets on. You can't talk like that here."

"So you in or not?" Sam asked.

"I'm in. Who do you want to go after first?"

Sam thought a moment. "How bout I go up in the rafters and then you make a noise and we'll take out whoever comes by?"

Nodding in agreement, Jules adjusted her hold on the paintball gun. She watched as Sam jumped and grabbed hold of one of the lower rafters and pulled himself up. Jules loved those bicep muscles of his. She stifled a yawn. Today was long and tiring given that she and Sam had very little sleep the last few nights. They'd both been rather more interested in other things when they got home at night.

Tonight though, she knew that they needed to go to their own places. They both needed sleep badly. Ed was staring to look at them both oddly. The Boss had even asked her if everything was okay. She had deflected saying it was just hard to fall asleep lately after some of the more difficult days they'd had. It worked yesterday, but after today-well, that excuse just wouldn't fly.

A yawn did emerge as Sam signaled to her he was in place and ready. Jules deliberately moved a chair making a sound as she ducked behind one of the large wooden boxes. She waited quietly hoping that was enough noise to draw, Ed, Wordy, Raf, or Spike to them.

Sam heard Jules yawn and it was contagious and he yawned. It set Jules to yawning again. They both went back and forth yawning several times. A slight sound got both their attention though and the yawning stopped.

Raf moved in slowly checking all directions. He was certain he heard a noise from this room. He saw the chair and nodded his head. Now where were they hiding? He moved from cover to cover and was almost to the large boxes when he was splattered by a paint ball. "Ah, man. Not cool. How the heck did you get up there?"

Jules stood up and waved her hand to Raf as she quietly said, "Bye, bye."

"Teaming up ... not cool," Raf chuckled. "Wish I'd thought of that." Then loudly he called out, "I'm out!" and headed for the stairs.

Sam dropped from the rafters and he and Jules moved out to find another position to draw in one of the others.

Ed was working his way up the stairs. He saw a small movement and grinned. He took aim and hit his target with precision.

Wordy spun around to see who got him. "Damn, how'd you get me from there?"

Grinning, Ed quietly said, "I'm just special like that."

"I'm out," Wordy called out then went to join the Boss and Raf outside.

Sam yawned again as he and Jules entered another room. Quietly he motioned for Jules to hide behind the half wall as he used it to climb up into the rafters. He settled in and braced himself into a tight spot.

Jules found a little hidden niche between the half wall and the boxes. She wiggled her small frame into the spot that none of the rest of the team could ever dream of getting into. Once there she signaled to Sam with a thumbs up and then settled in to wait.

Their positions gave them a good crossfire and visibility to both entrances to the room. Jules yawned and closed her eyes for just a moment while she focused on listening for any indication of someone approaching.

Fifteen minutes later, Spike was getting cramped in his hiding spot. The only ones left were him, Ed, Sam, and Jules. He hadn't heard or seen anything since Wordy was taken out. Spike was about to to stand up and work out his kinked muscle when he heard a noise.

He grinned knowing that he'd be taking out one of the three snipers on the team. Not bad for the techie. Not bad at all, he thought. He had to shift his position a bit to get a better visual in the direction he heard a slight shuffle.

Ed stealthily approached Spike's hiding place. It had taken him a long time to find him. It was a darned good spot. So good that Ed had to move to get an angle for a shot. He was just about in position. There!

Two shots rang out and paint balls splattered on Ed and Spike at the same time. Both were surprised and began to laugh.

"Nice shot, Spike. I'm out," Ed called.

"Ah darn," Spike looked down at the paint. "Thought for once I'd make it into the last two." As he walked out he yelled, "Looks like it's gonna be a Callaghan versus Braddock showdown. I'm placing my bet on Jules."

Ed clapped Spike's back. "And why is that?"

Spike opened his eyes wide. "You have to ask?"

Ed raised his brows questioningly.

"If Jules wins or if Jules loses, if I don't bet that she'll win, I'm sporting a bruised arm," Spike said with deadly sincerity.

Ed burst out laughing.

* * *

 _ **SRU HQ – Outside Shoot House**_

Twenty minutes later Greg, Ed, Spike, Raf, and Wordy were pacing around outside the shoot house. Ed kept checking his watch and finally said. "Five minutes more. We're off in five minutes and will just call it a draw."

Greg nodded. "This is the longest time it's taken."

Wordy looked to the shoot house and remarked, "Wonder if they are both laying in wait, like Spike was doing."

After five more minutes went by, Ed strode to the door of the shoot house and called in loudly, "It's a draw. Time to wrap it up you two. Time to go home."

He waited by the door as the others started to walk towards the main building. When he didn't heard either of them exiting, Ed called out, "Jules, Sam, time to go."

Greg paused and turned back. When Ed called for a third time he started back for the shoot house when Ed entered the building.

Wordy, Raf, and Spike all stopped and waited a moment. When Ed, Sam, or Jules didn't exit the building they all decided to go back to see what was going on.

* * *

 _ **SRU HQ – Inside Shoot House**_

As Ed made his way through the building, he called out, "Samo, Jules, enough play time. Time to go home. I swear if you two shoot me you're gonna be running extra laps for a week."

The rest of the team caught up with Ed and Greg as they entered one of the larger rooms at the top of the shoot house.

Ed chuckled and pointed up in the rafters to Greg. "Rafters of the shoot house is going on the unacceptable nap locations list."

The team all looked up and saw Sam's head was laying on the beam. He was clearly sleeping.

Spike said, "He's been real tired lately. Said he's been having trouble sleeping."

Wordy asked, "Nightmares?"

Spike shook his head. "Not that he's said."

Raf's brows lifted. "How can he sleep there?"

"Oh, you should see the list of places he's fallen asleep. You'd be surprised," Spike said.

Greg looked around concerned. "Where's Jules?"

That got everyone worried. They started calling her name loudly. Loud enough that it woke Sam.

Sam blinked his eyes open at raised voices and immediately groaned. He'd never live this one down. But then worry seized him as he realized they were calling for Jules. He lifted his head and then swung down out of the rafters.

Spike turned and said, "Have a nice nap?"

"Where's Jules?" Sam asked ignoring the nap comment.

"Don't know," Greg stated and they all heard the concern in his tone.

Quickly moving to the half wall and vaulting over it, Sam scanned the area. A huge grin spread across his face. "Ed, you need to start an unacceptable nap location list for Jules. Between boxes behind the half wall of the shoot house is the first entry."

The team gathered around Sam and were surprised to see Jules gently sawing logs ... sound asleep.

Greg moved forward and took a knee as he said, "Jules, hey, Jules. Wake up." He then shook her shoulder gently.

Jules slowly opened her eyes. She turned bright red when she saw all the guys standing around with stupid smirks on their faces. She crawled out of her hiding spot and looked at Sam. "This is all your fault!"

Sam's eyes widened. Was she going to say something that would give away the reason they were both so tired. He braced himself for the whatever next was coming out of her mouth.

"You just had to team up and you wouldn't stop yawning," Jules sputtered out in an effort to cover what she _almost_ said.

"Hey, you started yawning first," Sam retorted.

"Did not."

"Did to."

"Not."

"To."

"Not."

"To."

"Not."

"To."

Ed chuckled. "Fighting like three-year-olds? We interrupted nap-time and now they're surly."

Sam and Jules grinned at each other then laughed along with the rest of the team.

As they all headed out, Spike joked, "Jules, Sam is rubbing off on you. You are getting your own unacceptable nap location list."

"OWWW!" Spike exclaimed as he rubbed his bicep. "What was that for? It was Sam's idea."

"OWWW!" Sam exclaimed as he rubbed his bicep and watched Jules stride out of the the shoot house. He grinned, payback would be slow torturous kisses or possibly tickling her until she called uncle.

Greg, Wordy, and Ed just laughed.

Raf shook his head-this was one crazy team he had joined.

.

* * *

AN: Busy working on **OUTLIER: Blood, Brotherhood and Beauty**. It is the second half of the original Belonging story but it has been **expanded** with **tons** of **new content!** It takes a slightly different direction than the original and you will get to see him reconnecting with his family and there is more LAN. Hoping to have the book ready to publish in mid-July.

 **Beauty of Life series**

 **\- FORSAKEN: On the Edge of Oblivion** (Beauty of Life, Book One)

 **\- SOLACE: Behind the Shield** (Beauty of Life, Book Two)

 **\- BELONGING: Hope, Truth and Malice** (Beauty of Life, Book Three)

 _\- Work in Progress coming mid-July:_ **OUTLIER: Blood, Brotherhood and Beauty** (Beauty of Life, Book Four)

 _\- Work in Progress:_ **PURGATORY: Bonds Forged in Hellfire** (Beauty of Life, Book Five)

You can visit **Amazon** and search for **LAURA ACTON** in Kindle Books to **read the first few chapters** of **each book** with the look inside feature.

.

Here is a tiny sneak peak from **OUTLIER: Blood, Brotherhood and Beauty**

* * *

 ** _St. Michael Hospital – Room 1030 – 11:30 p.m._**

Lexa gently caressed the back of Dan's hand as he slept. He hadn't woken up tonight at all when she came into the room. She wished that he would, his voice would go a long way in settling her nerves today. Today had been a bad day. They lost the subject. He was little more than a boy—only fourteen.

She had tried so hard to get through to the boy—but she couldn't and John ended up having to neutralize the subject.

Normally that language helped lessen the impact—but this was a fourteen-year-old boy who should've been playing video games, basketball or just hanging out with friends. He shouldn't have been standing with a gun to his father's head. He shouldn't have died—but he did and it hurt a lot.

She'd spent most the night with Loki and Ray. The call had dredged up memories of Loki's youth when his stepfather had verbally abused him. Calls involving kids were always tough on the team. She had finally left Loki in Ray's care tonight so she could stop by and check on Dan.

Lexa blew out a tired breath and laid her head on the bed near Dan's hand. She was going to miss being able to see him every day. Even seeing him while he slept—like right now would be better than nothing.

All kinds of thoughts were swirling around in her head. How did she get to this point with a man? No man ever got past a third date—not since high school. How come Dan had her thinking things that were so out of her character? Dan confused her yet drew her to him at the same time. She wanted him—wanted him bad—he set her core on fire with a word, a look, or a single touch.

Feeling like this scared the hell out of her. She'd hadn't felt this out of control of her emotions since she was a teen. Lexa liked being in control. She hated the feeling that someone else could have power over her and force her to do something she didn't want. She'd striven for control ever since the night she walked home late one night from band practice. Never would she allow a man to have power over her again.

But Dan … he challenged all that. A small part of her wanted to give in and let him control things. But the fear of being hurt and abandoned was too strong and overrode that small part.

Lexa yawned and her hand stilled over Dan's hand. She forced herself to quiet those thoughts. For now, she was in control … they were friends with benefits and she could put a stop to that at any time she wanted. It was nothing more than a way to satisfy the mutual physical attraction they felt … and for now that would be all and she would remain in control.

She drifted off to sleep and didn't hear the light knock on the door signaling Scott's return.

As he entered the room, Scott saw Lexa's head on Dan's bed. He quietly moved forward and saw her eyes were closed. Her breathing was slow and regular. He grinned then slowly and quietly moved to the couch in the room. He would wake her before Uncle Will showed up at zero four hundred. He leaned back and relaxed. _Yeah, there was definitely something between Dan and Lexa._


End file.
